Who do you think you are?
by Spazzfreeks
Summary: This is an AU where Dick became Kid Flash and Wally became Robin. It's an examination of how Dick and Wally's superhero identities affect their personalities only with some slash thrown in. Chapter ten is up!
1. The First Meeting

Chapter 1: The First Meeting

Dashing across the top of a towering brick wall, Robin pulled out his grappling gun as he simultaneously leapt downwards towards an alley below. He flipped through the air as he pulled the trigger, shooting the grappling hook towards some rooftop. Robin propelled himself effortlessly through the air as his black and yellow cape flapped behind him.

Landing with less grace than the Bat himself would, but certainly more grace than any average person, Robin hopped onto a fire escape and proceeded to leap from building to wall to building.

Mean while, Kid Flash's feet padded lightly against the earth. His steps so quick they could bypass any motion detection or pressure sensor, he ran along side his mentor. The Flash, aka Barry Allen, grinned hugely.

"Well ain't you excited, Kid?"

"That I finally get to meet Boy Wonder?" The young boy dressed head to tow in yellow questioned, a devilish smirk on his face.

The Flash merely laughed, "Well are you?"

"Of course. Who wouldn't like a new friend?" The smirk remained.

Barry sighed, muttering only half facetiously, "More like new victim."

Robin gazed over Gotham through the white lenses of his mask. Batman crouched in the darkness nearby, observing the crime-ridden city with a stern look. Only Boy Wonder understood that look to one of anxiousness.

"It'll be fine Batman." Robin sighed.

"You haven't met Kid Flash. You don't know him, he-"

"It'll be _fine_. Geez, I didn't realize Bats got worry warts!" Robin chuckled to himself. Batman's scowl grew more scowlish.

Within seconds, Boy Wonder glimpsed a red blur dash up the side of the Wayne Industries building – a structure that was more wide than tall and chosen as meeting place solely out of convenience.

Though the experienced speedster had no difficulty with scaling the building, the same could not be said for the yellow blur trailing behind him. After several tries, _Flashboy_ finally managed to make it up high enough to zip up an emergency stairwell and reach the roof.

"Took you long enough." Robin teased, hopping off his perch on the luminescent "W." As he straightened up to look the Flash protégé in the face, his gaze was met with the singular most gorgeous blue eyes he'd ever seen.

"Well I'm worth the wait, Boy Wonderful." One of the blue eyes winked at him and Robin froze, every muscle in his body tensing. Kid Flash's eyes popped against the yellow of his flatteringly form-fitting costume. Surprising the urge to gulp and staying silent for fear of saying stupid (especially in front of Batman,) Robin remained a good six feet from the young speedster.

Kid Flash, on the other hand, moved casually, his shocking eyes raking up and down Robin appreciatively, with an indescribably mischievous grin on his young face. He inched himself closer and Robin counted every step those red boots took. 1. Five feet. 2. Four feet... "Hmm? Something wrong Birdboy?" such a voice! His words glided off his tongue and floated through the air.

"Kid Flash," Batman stepped out of the shadows to intervene, but the speedster seemed only a little taken aback, "His name is Robin."

"Gee willikers Batsy; it was just a joke!" Kid Flash gave Batman. _THE_ Batman. A cheeky little grin, "Calm don't won't ya?"

Robin knew that scowl. Kid Flash was one "williker" away from getting a batarang lodged in his shoulder.

"Dude!" Boy Wonder whispered vehemently towards the yellow-clad sidekick, "You can't say that to him. He's the god damn Batman!"

Kid Flash only laughed. A creepily high-pitched laugh Robin could only envy. That laugh could send chills down even Scarecrow's spine. "Don't worry about me _Robin_. The big Bat hasn't killed me yet."

The Flash sighed heavily, deciding to finally join the conversation rather than observe with an all-too-amused grin on his face. "Alright there, Kiddo. Enough of that. Now, talk some more with Robin here, I've got some League stuff for Batman and I to discuss."

He zoomed over to the Dark Knight and led him away from the sidekicks, but not before turning back and adding teasingly, "Play nice now!"

With a smirk that clearly displayed to Robin that "playing nice" was not what Kid Flash had in mind, the mustard speedster turned back to Gotham's favorite bird. Three steps closer. Three feet away. Kid Flash leaned forward just a bit, their faces were comfortably distant and Robin silently prayed it stayed that way. "So, you come here often Chickadee?"

"Listen, Blue eyes, love to have a battle of the pick up lines with you, but I'm Robin. I'm a hero right now. I don't have time to mess around-"

"Bullcrap, we both know that's Bat-brainwash talking." Another wink, another foot closer, and Kid Flash leaned in even closer, his blue eyes becoming all Robin could focus on.

"Come off it; we both know you're just trying to mess with me. Like with the guards at Buckingham Palace, you're trying to see if you can make the Boy Wonder crack. Well I don't get distracted so easy." Robin rolled his eyes beneath the mask and crossed on gloved forearm over the other – he'd been through this game before.

But the blue eyes only sparkled with more interest. One foot. Too close! Too close! Robin attempted to back away but quickly found that his muscles were too tense to move. He had to admit Kid Flash was pretty cute, but not cute enough to risk Batman's wrath. In the Robin uniform, he needed to stay professional and-

"Quite the opposite, Pretty Bird, you seemed to be quite tracted."

Nervously, Robin ran a hand through his bright red hair. Underneath the mask his green eyes widened with shock as their faces were now inches apart.

"Listen, Kid, you're a little young for me-"

"I don't mind." The raven-haired beauty replied in a sing-song tone. Robin blushed fervently. _Oh yeah._ Robin though sarcastically, _This is going just_ FINE.

"Look Kid Flirt," The speedster only seemed pleased by the new nickname, "I've got what's called a personal bubble and-" The inches were decreasing gradually. Kid Flash's lips inched closer. Eleven year old lips? Twelve? Too young! What did this kid think he was doing? "Stop it okay. Okay you win you're little game now. Stop. Don't. Richard!"

That brought Kid Flash to a screeching halt. He backed away about a foot and Robin could practically see the gears in his hyper-accelerated brain working.

"You know my secret identity?" Kid Flash finally asked, more thunderstruck than threatening. Though Robin doubted this yellow-clad kid could ever by threatening.

"Batman and I... We're the Dynamic Duo..." Robin nervously combed his gloved fingers through his ginger hair again. How to explain? "We know almost all the hero's identities-"

"But let me guess," Richard interrupted, his expression becoming unreadable, but his eyes filling with some indescribably ominous emotion, "I can't know your name?"

"...Sorry." Robin refused to meet the shorter side kick in the eye.

Kid Flash pouted for about a millisecond before we heard Batman and Flash start to walk back over to our corner of the building. Now the smirk returned with a vengeance, "That's okay Lovebird, I like a mystery."

Flash blurred towards the two boys, putting his hand on Kid Flash's shoulder, he asked gently – almost fatherly, "I'm done with my little 'conference,' you ready to go?"

"Yeah sure." The younger speedster flashed a grin at his scarlet bearing mentor who Robin knew to be his adoptive father.

Barry zipped down the side of the building, waving bye to Batman, who was still gliding towards his ward in that darkly graceful way, his feet hidden by the cape. Kid Flash took the opportunity to whisper in Robin's ear as he started after his mentor.

"My friends call me Dick by the way," Dick's breath tickled Robin's ear and he caught a glimpse of a sly smirk as Kid Flash blurred out of sight, racing after his mentor. Still frozen, Robin stood there a moment longer before Batman came up, putting a gray hand on his sidekick's caped shoulder.

"Now you see why I was worried?" He asked gruffly.

"Y-yeah." Wally attempted to hide his blush, for one he was happy Batman preferred the dark because crouching in the shadows meant no one seeing how beet red and flustered Wally's face had become.

**[A/N: **

**With this fic I'm trying to examine how much Wally or Dick's superhero identity is tied to their true personalities.**

**Hopefully that wasn't too awful a start. What you think? Anyone at all surprised? Is anyone wondering why Dick's being such flirt? Is anyone simply wondering what's going on?**

**It'll all be explained soon. So keep reading! And commenting would be nice too.]**


	2. Wally Boy Wonder

Chapter 2: Wally Boy Wonder

Wally sat in the glumly lit Batcave, staring into the holographic screen of his wrist-computer. He scroll along the pages upon pages of data Batman had collected on a certain speedster by the name of Richard Grayson.

Rubbing his temple with his free hand, Wally glared at the screen through his Robin mask.

"Richard Grayson aka Dick aka Kid Flash," he muttered to himself, a pout formed on his lips as he repeated the things he'd already read a hundred times, "Parents, John and Mary Grayson, were acrobats at a circus and died in an accident." _That sucks. That absolutely sucks..._ "The circus had made a stop at Central City for an impromptu performance. The Flash had, ironically, been too late to save them," _Geezus, why is that guy always so late? Why did I idolize him so much again?_ "and feeling guilty for it, adopted Richard into the Allen family at the age of nine. Dick kept his initial last name." _Yeah, I didn't do that. Why would I? Unlike Dick, I don't really have good memories of... never mind that!_

The documents surrounding the adoption and newspaper articles about the accident crowded the little blue screen. Wally closed most of the tabs and windows and read over Dick's Kid Flash data.

"Despite never going to a proper school," _And only being_ _nine,_ "he was already at algebra-level math." _holy shit_ "Barry Allen decided to share the data from a few experiments with Richard, hoping science would help the kid deal with his grief." _Well, science is pretty cool_, "It worked too well, and Richard managed to find Allen's Flash experiments. At the age of ten," _damn_ "Richard recreated the experiment, successfully, and soon thereafter became Kid Flash..."

Wally slapped his forehead, letting out a strangled groan, "Dammit, Dick's a genius... I couldn't even do that, and I'm the first sidekick ever! I'm Batman's protégé!"

"You really need to learn to stop talking to yourself, Wally." A gruff voice echoed off the Batcave's gloomy walls. The Boy Wonder jumped slightly, but quickly attempted to cover it up by getting up and walking over to the big bad Bat. Normally, he would have sensed Bruce's presence, but he'd been too wrapped up with thoughts of Kid Flash.

"Sorry, Bruce." Wally hung his head slightly, his ginger bangs falling into his freckled face. Thinking out loud was a dangerous thing for a superhero, especially in Gotham, and failing to hear Bruce walk in was a double failure. And, failure was unacceptable.

Bruce gave Wally a gentle look. Well, Wally understood it to be gentle; to anyone else, it looked a bit like a frown only with the emotion of a teaspoon. "You know you shouldn't get attached to Kid Flash."

"I know!" Bruce's adoptive son exclaimed all too quickly and loudly (the sound reverberated off the walls and somewhere in the mansion Alfred had the feeling it would be wise to brew some hot chocolate. Hot chocolate always calmed the young master's nerves.) "I-I mean, I know that, I just... He's amazing – I mean not like _amazing_ but like he's cool um..."

Bruce gave a nod (more like his head made a microscopic flinch downwards.) "It's okay, Wally. I've been thinking that Kid Flash would not be a bad friend for you... even with his..." Bruce struggled to find a diplomatic wording, "unique interpretation of personal boundaries."

Wally gave a snort, "Yeah, you could call it that. That speedster experiment must have a side effect of hyper-accelerated flirtatiousness..." shyly letting his voice drift into silence, Wally listened to his snarktastic comment's slight echo. Hesitantly, he wondered, "...Why do you think Dick wouldn't be a "bad friend" for me?"

"He goes through what you do," Bruce rested a heavy, comforting hand on his sidekick's shoulder. Bruce didn't really like the term sidekick, he saw him and Robin as partners, the Dynamic Duo; they had been working together since Wally ran away from the Wests, "He's adopted, like you; he's a superhero, like you; he's young, like you; and that means he's under the same sort of pressures you are. You can relate."

_No one can relate to being partners with_ THE _Batman._ Wally wanted to say that, but he didn't. _He doesn't seem to have any pressure on him._ Wally wanted to say that too, but he couldn't. _He's too good-looking for eleven._ Wally wouldn't say that. Instead, he put a pleasant smile on his face and asked, "Does that mean I get to see him again?" Was there too much hope in his voice? Was he over stepping his bounds?

"Yes. With Flash and myself there of course." Bruce's voice was firm (threatening.) The billionaire/vigilante did not trust the young speedster. "I hope you two can become friends." His voice made it clear that he hoped for them to be just. friends.

Still, the Boy Wonder couldn't help but smile for real at the prospect of seeing (the amazing) Kid Flash again. "Thanks, Bruce." His arms twitched, reflexively searching for a hug he knew wouldn't come. Not for something like this. Bruce's hugs were a rare, endangered species.

Patting his shoulder, Bruce turned towards the case in the Batcave where he kept his cape and utility belt, "We're meeting them next week in Central City to help Flash with some patrol work. Now suit-up Robin."

"Yes sir!" Next week? Suddenly, Wally found his heart racing a million miles an hour. _I'm meeting Dick so soon? What! I need more time than that to... prepare myself! Prepare myself? Yeah. Mentally! Yeah... Dammit!_

**[A/N: Some insight into the psyche of Wally as Robin. In case you can't tell, yes, Wally's parents are abusive in this universe. **

**Wally is someone who can't sit still. He's the type to take his pain away through jokes. He has low self-esteem, but when being just Wally, he tries to cover it up with arrogance (as you will see in later chapters). He's open sexually, but remember he's only thirteen in this chap, plus he lives with Bruce. That's gotta affect his flirtatiousness, right?**

**As Kid Flash, Wally is _free_. He can go anywhere or do anything, and his mentor's pretty cool about it all, being the cool uncle and all. Plus, he has his Aunt Iris in his life (who I really do think is a beam of hope and goodness that really helped form who Wally is as a person)**

**As Robin, Wally is suppressed. On missions, he has to follow orders to the letter or risk his life (and Bruce's) His mentor is, well, Batman, and Wally constantly fears Bruce will give up on him and kick him out or worse send him back to his parents.**

**Next Chapter will be Dick as Kid Flash.]**


	3. Dick the Speedster

Chapter 3: Dick the Speedster

Dick's heart beat literally as fast as a hummingbird's wings as he stood still in the middle of the Allen family's kitchen. Iris (his adoptive mom: a sweet woman with one of the kindest smiles he'd ever seen) chopped up a few carrots as she prepped for dinner. Tonight was stew night.

"How's school, Dick?" Iris asked in the soft humming voice Dick had come to know and love. Initially, he hadn't been thrilled to know the Flash wanted to adopt him. Sure it was cool knowing a superhero's identity, but back then, Dick was more of a fan of Batman or Superman. But, at the moment Barry introduced him to Iris, he knew he could make a home with the Allens even if it would never fill the hole in his heart.

"It's good, Iris." He still didn't call her mom. _It's not right to call her mom. Mom is dead. Iris is my guardian. Iris is wonderful in every way and the best parent a child could ask for, but she's not_ my _mom_. Iris grinned back at her adopted son. Oh how she loved Dick. He was such a bright young boy, and sure, he could be a bit flighty at times, but he always had the best intentions. Plus, no one was more open and honest than Dick. _Barry and Iris are the reason I'm like that..._ With the Allens, Dick never felt he had to pretend to be anything he was not to receive their affection. More importantly, Dick never felt he was limited in how much affection he could give them,

"Especially since you pack my lunch. People might stare a little when I have eight turkey sandwiches shoved in my backpack, but you're cooking so amazing! Who else can make even peanut-butter crackers better than anyone else? It must be the ratio of peanut-butter to cracker – like others have like a 4:1 ratio, which is waaaay too much peanut-butter, but then others have like a 1:2 ratio, which is so not enough!" By this time, Dick was practically bouncing up and down with excitement. He loved talking about math and food almost as much as he loved talking about cute girls and boys and missions.

Iris gave Dick a warm grin, asking with a teasing tone in her singsong voice, "You calculated ratios of peanut-butter to cracker?"

"Of course!" Dick's muscles hummed quietly as he repositioned himself so fast Iris didn't even register the movement. Now standing right beside his adoptive mom, staring at her with his big blue eyes, he continued, "My mind is hyper-accelerated too. So, I get so _bored_ in school. I mean school's great; don't get me wrong, but I have to find things to occupy my brain, you know? I wouldn't really call it getting distracted... but not like focused? I guess more like tracted? Hmm. Isthataword?Ohwell,I'lluseitanyway."

Hurriedly, Dick raced up to his room, brought down a dictionary, wrote in the word tracted, and rejoined Iris before she blinked twice. A bubbly giggle escaped from the redish haired woman. Iris had to set down the knife as her hands trembled with laughter. Dick always managed to channel his hyperactivity into something productive.

Managing to calm her laughter, Iris turned to search her freshly bought groceries for onions. Only the onions were nowhere to be found. "Oh no... Dick I forgot to buy onions, will you go get som-" A gust of wind tousled her hair and caused her recipe book to blow shut, and not two minutes later, Dick stood in the middle of the kitchen holding up a bag of onions.

Noticing Iris's hesitant look, Dick quickly informed her, "Don't worry, I went to a farm a state over and picked some of their onions... plus the farmer there will find an extra couple dollars in his wallet that weren't there before." At that Iris grinned. Indeed, Dick always had the best intentions, even if they somewhat involved showing off.

As Iris ran the onions under cold water and began to peel them, Dick rested his elbows against the granite counter. The corners of her lips turned upwards cheerfully as she started up her conversation with Dick again, "So school's good, huh? Anybody especially cute?"

Dick beamed joyously, his blue eyes shining. _I love how Iris and I can talk about anything._ "Well yeah, though there's this one eighth grade girl, Linda, she's really pretty - not exactly my type – but still pretty."

"Oh?" Her lips pulled up even more and a knowing glint appeared in her green eyes, "Any cute boys?"

Even from the time Dick lived in the circus, he knew he wasn't straight, but the only other kids around his age had been his cousins, and they never stayed in one town long enough for him to really develop a crush on anyone. When Barry adopted him and he started going to school in Central City, he hadn't realized he was any different than his classmates. So it came as a big shock to him when he got punched in the eye for telling the boy sitting next to him he was cute. He'd come home and cried into Iris's arms, and when he recounted what happened, she explained to him "sexuality" and that not everyone was open minded or comfortable with it. She'd hugged him and comforted him and supported him.

_Bet if that happened to Robin, Bats woulda just given him a Batglare and walked away. Batsy really doesn't seem like the empathetic type..._ Dick mused as he watched Iris cut into the onions, trying to not let the sting in his eyes cause him to tear up.

"Well there's one really cute boy... but he doesn't go to my school." Dick sighed. _Robin is cute. Oh so definitely cute. His looks sure, but his personality is the cutest. I didn't think he'd freeze up like that from just flirting..._ _It's not like I was being serious anyway. I'm twelve. Like I'm really looking to get into someone's pants_.

"Is it Batman's sidekick? Robin?" Iris's smile quickly morphed into a knowing smirk. _How does she always know! I swear she's empathic to the point it's not human_.

"Maybe." Dick grinned shyly. He didn't understand why, but he really wanted to be friends with Robin.

"I thought so." Iris scraped the onions into a pot, and paused to look at Dick with a beaming grin threatening to take over her face, "Then, you'll be happy to know – I guess I should wait for Barry to tell you, but oh well – Barry set it up so Batman and Robin are coming to Central next week."

"No way! Really?" Dick slammed his hands on the counter excitedly, his blue eyes positively glowing with enthusiasm. "! This is so...so... GUSTING!"

"Gusting?" Iris quirked an eyebrow at her son.

The raven-haired boy ran to for his dictionary once more, opening it and scrolling the new phrase into the margins as he explained, "Disgusting means to arouse revulsion or strong indignation, so must be the GUSTING is the opposite where is arouses strong delight."

Overwhelmed with giggles, Iris managed only an, "I see."

_I'm meeting Robin so soon! Yes! I can initiate step two in Operation: Keep Boy Wonderful from Becoming as Stiff and Awkward as Bats. KBWBSAB... That needs a new name... one with a cooler acronym. Hmm... I better come up with one before I see Robin again._

**[A/N] So sorry about my lack of clarity before. This is an AU where Robin is Wally and Dick is Kid Flash.**

**Dick is a flamboyant guy (if you've ever seen any old school Nightwing costumes you won't argue with me on that one). He's open and honest, a little arrogant, and loves to always be _doing_ something. He can't sit still, but in a different way than Wally, he doesn't just have to be doing something he has to be accomplishing something. He's observant, trusting, hopeful, and playful.**

**Dick as Robin is more careful. He has to cautiously himself for Batman's. Bruce is a good father to him, but to the extent that Bruce can be (a billionaire playboy/vigilante isn't going to have all that much free time for father-to-son time), so Dick doesn't often _talk_ to anyone about his feelings. But at the same time Dick's the sort of trusting guy who knows Bruce will always be there for him. He doesn't spend a lot of time with flirting or thoughts of romance because _he doesn't have the time_.**

**Dick as Kid Flash is flighty. He takes advantage of his speed whenever he can. He talks freely to anyone he feels somewhat close to (though he still protects his secret identity). He loves flirting as a kind of game – as a Speedster you tend to get addicted to the chase. He lets his mind go as fast as it can, and his only worry is that if he goes too fast for others to ever catch up he'll find himself alone (mentally, emotionally, physically)**

**Next Chap Wally and Dick meet again (The chap after that the YJ Team comes in!)**


	4. ASTER pt 1

**[A/N: I'd like to thank you all for reading. I know there were bits of misunderstanding in the beginning, but to all who are still reading and to those who are commenting, I thank you. You're why I continue to write at all.**

**Also I just realized I screwed up their ages... I said Wally's thirteen but Dick is twelve... woops. So lets pretend its December in the fic. After Dick's birthday but before Wally's (you can check me on this, but I've seen a lot of stuff saying Dick's birthday is in late October and I know Wally's is in January) So yeah they're still two years separated, and Wally is still the older one.]**

Chapter 4: ASTER pt 1

Dick and Wally's week had been riddled with anticipation. Both boys were excited for their own reasons. Dick busied himself planning ways to mess with the Boy Wonder while simultaneously becoming his bro for life (or more if Bats would let him.) Wally, however, anxiously awaited seeing Dick again. He didn't know why, but the energy Kid Flash gave off was utterly relatable and compelling. Plus, it wasn't everyday Bruce let him leave Gotham – who wouldn't be excited by a field trip?

Now the long awaited day arrived, and Kid Flash (aka Dick Grayson) raced Flash (aka Barry Allen) around Central City Park as they waited for the Dynamic Duo to show up.

"b-Flash! When did Batman say they'd show?" Dick's muscles twitched with slight impatience.

"Calm down, Kid," Barry chuckled as he raced ahead of the raven haired boy decked out in mustard-colored spandex, "Bats is never late. Never."

"If you say so." Dick zipped forward, around his mentor, he slowed to only twice the speed of an average human as he treaded halfway up a nearby oak tree, grabbed hold of a sturdy-looking branch, and did a simple flip. He allowed his speed to carry him, and as he landed, he fluidly continued his run.

Barry rolled his eyes from beneath his red cowl. "You're such a little show off." He commented affectionately.

"Not gonna deny it!" Dick laughed as he weaved in and out of trees excitedly.

Meanwhile, somewhere high in the skies of Kansas, Bruce (the pointy ears of his Batcape sticking out menacingly) pressed several buttons to prepare the Batjet for landing. They would be in Central City within minutes. Wally (dressed in his full-on Robin outfit, cape and all) sat in his seat, shaking with nervous exhilaration. Bruce noticed this out of the corner of his eye.

"Robin, you're nervous." (Batman never put anything in the form of a question – one of the many reasons he'll never appear on Jeopardy despite that he could totally win it fifty times over.) He might as well have been smirking; Wally could hear the mocking in his adoptive father's voice.

"N-no! Of course not! Why would I be?" Wally cursed himself for stammering.

"He's the only sidekick you've ever met aside from Speedy. Its natural to be nervous, especially when Kid Flash _loves_ to tease everyone."

"Yeah, noticed that." Wally rolled his eyes, but spoke quietly "Cocky brat even teases _you_. It's kinda hard to believe he's not dead, actually..."

There. There was a smirk creeping its way onto Batman's normally expressionless expression, "Speedsters have a natural talent for miraculously not dying."

Wally's eyebrows shot up, stretching the opaque lenses of his mask wide, making his shock clear. Batman just made a joke. The rare Batjoke. Rare like a-planet-orbiting-a-binary-star-system-rare. **[A/N: trust me that's rare]**

"...It's probably better than the opposite." Wally said to fill the silence as he shrugged. A smirk matching his mentor's appeared on his face. A Batjoke was a sure sign of luck. Sure, Wally didn't believe in luck or magic or anything like that (except unicorns. Unicorns totally exist,) but he did feel more confident knowing Batman was comfortable enough to make a wisecrack.

Dick looked up as he heard the rumble of jet engines. Through the clouds and the sky that matched Dick's eyes perfect, he spotted the dark outline of the Batjet. A rascally grin spread across his face as he jumped up and down eagerly, pointing to the sky with a gloved finger. He shouted melodramatically as Flash ran up to see what he was pointing at, "It's a bird! It's a plane! It's BATMAN!"

That earned the dark haired speedster a look, but Dick only shrugged, "What it's true! Robin's a bird, a jet's a plane, and look," Dick gestured to what amounted to a Batmobile with wings as it landed in the field in front of them, "there's Batman."

On cue, Batman lifted up the roof doming the cockpit of the jet, and leapt out deftly. His dark demeanor contrasted drolly with the bright, wintry Central City Park. Behind him, his ward climbed out, attempting to appear as graceful as the Bat, which he sadly, was not.

As soon as the young Speedster laid eyes on the freckly bird, he dashed over to him at a speed that almost broke the sound barrier. Skidding to a halt, and very nearly ramming into the Batmobile due to his vast momentum, Kid Flash grinned trollishly at the older sidekick.

"Hey there, Rockin' Robin."

It took a short moment, but Robin cocked an eyebrow, "h-Hey there Kid Cheesy-nicknames." Though a normal person might've missed the hesitation, Kid Flash's distorted sense of time allowed him to pick up on it easily.

Still, he was impressed Robin had even managed a comeback. It was a huge improvement on standing there like a mime trapped in a box. Just as Kid Flash was about to test out another cheesy line, Batman stepped in between the two youths.

"We are here to help patrol. This is work, not a vacation. Remember that, Robin." Wally stared at his mentor in a moment of disheartening realization that he'd managed to slip up. Again. He hung his head, determinedly looking away from Batman.

"Sorry."

Kid Flash frowned, thinking to himself, _Clearly, Robin needs operation ASTER more than I'd thought._ Without missing a beat, he slung his arm around the lean shoulders of the Boy Wonder and gave what must have been a trademarked cheeky grin to Batman, "No worries Bats! I like to mix work and pleasure. We'll have fun while getting the job done."

Batman glared with a mixture of anger and exasperation, though Kid Flash had a feeling the glare was more for the rhyming than anything else. _So Bats doesn't like rhymes... That's going on *The List._

"Okay, okay, Kid remember there's a limit to how much Speedster even a Bat can stand." Flash ruffled his son's and Robin's hair. "So how about you two team up for a little patrol work?" He sent a vaguely warning look Dick's way and added, "Batman and I won't be far behind."

Dick rested his knuckles on his hip (nonexistent hip considering he was a twelve year old boy) and snickered "Patrol work? Sounds good to me, but I don't think Baby Birdy here is exactly up to speed." He gestured towards Robin who looked up indignantly.

"Oh really? You don't think I could totally take you? Just 'cuz you've got some hyper accelerated molecules you think you can beat the Batman's protégé?" Robin tossed his arms up in the air exaggeratedly at the last part. Dick smirked. _I_ knew _Robin had a competitive side. Step one is a go._

"No offense Down-Feathers, but a little hatchling is hardly going to one up the one and only Kid Flash. You're just not fast enough." Dick taunted haughtily. From the way Robin's lip twitched with agitation, he could tell he would have this ginger boy in the palm of his hand in no time.

"I wouldn't be so sure, Kid Flash." The Batman's voice echoed darkly at Dick's side. He froze for a moment. _Damn Batman's creepy..._

"Oh yeah? You guys got special Bat!shoes that let you run as fast as me..." Dick attempted a smirk towards the Bat but faltered, and his words trailed off into nothing as he looked Batman in the eyes (or rather, the white lenses of his cowl.)

"Better." The amusement (yes even Dick and Barry could discern a Bat!emotion) in the Dark Knight's voice held ominous menace. The man dressed like a bat nodded at his partner and Robin pressed a button on one of his high-tech gloves. The high-pitched tink-tink of mechanics working sounded from Robin's boots, and suddenly, His shoes grew wheels. Kid Flash could only stand there in shock for a moment before snickering.

"Pfft. Rollerblades? You think I can't out run a kid on rollerblades?"

"No one said anything about out running." Batman's chillingly ominous amusement only deepened.

**[A/N: continued in the next chapter 'cuz it was getting hella long. Like almost 3000 words long.]**


	5. ASTER pt 2

**[A/N: chapter four was REALLY long so I split it up. YJ team will appear in chapter 6.**

**Continues a couple minutes after pt 1 left off.]**

Chapter 5: ASTER pt 2

"I can't _believe_ they're making me do this!" Kid Flash harrumphed as he placed his red goggles firmly over his blue eyes, turning them purple to the outside world. Robin thought it was nice shade for a moment before returning to checking his controls. Somewhat annoyed by the lack of conversation on Robin's end Kid Flash spun around angrily, "This is because I'm shorter than you isn't it? You all don't think I'm strong enough to just carry you."

At that Robin snorted, but continued focusing. He still wasn't all that comfortable with the mini Speedster despite all his mental preparation the week before. Every time he'd spoken had been hesitant, carefully thought out – that or 100% impulsive. Robin checked the wheels of his rollerblades one last time before finally looking up at the indignant looking preteen.

"C'mon. It's not that bad having to pull me around is it?" Robin attached a cord to the belt Kid Flash had been forced to don. The cord led from the belt to a handle (not unlike the handle used for waterskiing), which Robin gripped firmly.

Dick crossed his arms with a grimace plastered on his face, "Say 'mush' one time and you'll find yourself swinging around some _very_ narrow mountain roads."

Robin paused for a moment, before responding with forced-idleness, "In Kansas? Good luck with that." The ginger glanced at Kid Flash from under his mask hoping the younger sidekick would find the comment amusing. He was busy poking at the chord though.

Some static echoed into Robin's communicator before he heard Batman's voice in his ear. Batman currently sat in the Batjet while Flash was on watch at nearby bank intelligence said would be robbed later today (and by intelligence, I mean the Trickster set Flash a note he was going to rob it.) "Robin. You're free to go. Make sure Kid Flash does not get side tracked."

"Got it." Robin replied before turning to Kid Flash, "...Mush."

Kid Flash took off like a rocket, pulling Robin along with him. The force of his speed hit Robin harder than most villains in Gotham could punch, and anyone who's ever seen Bane can guess how big of an impact those punches make. Central City was but a blur of colors and cars, and Robin silently thanked every deity he knew of that he had a specific talent for dodging things.

Abruptly, Kid Flash made a dangerously tight turn between two buildings, the momentum of which very nearly flung Robin into a dumpster. "DUDE!" The freckled bird hollered furiously. "W-wait this isn't the route! Batman gave you a rou-"

"Short cut!" Kid Flash replied shortly before taking another swift turn, this time in between a building and a car.

"You're trying to kill me!" Robin screeched, his voice cracking and already pale face growing paler. _Thank god I don't seem to ever get motion sickness!_ Robin thought, balking at the idea of how sick he'd be otherwise. (Hint: vomit everywhere)

"Not _trying_ to kill you, Lovebird, If you just let me carry you-" Kid Flash called again (he'd only avoided using nicknames in the presence of Batman)

Taken aback by the suggestion's second mention as much as the nickname, Robin responded, frantically, "No way! Not happening! Nuh-uh!"

"Suit yourself, Roadrunner" Kid Flash gave a shrug and turned again, this time in an open enough space that Robin didn't completely fear for his life, as he swung wide along the road.

"EeeEEeEEeeeH! AAAAAH! ARRRCGHGGH!" And various civilian screams of such nature suddenly erupted from nearby.

Kid Flash sped up, racing towards the noises with Robin yelling agitatedly after him. The yellow speedster reached a wide street facing a strip mall when he finally stopped. Robin rammed into him and they were both sent hurtling to the ground.

"Dude! Brake lights next time!" Robin grumbled, winding the chord up and hooking it onto Kid Flash's belt to get it out of the way. Judging by the sounds of explosions and terrified civilians, the villain was close by.

"Yeah, Hummingbird, I'll get right on that. Right after turn signals..." Kid Flash pushed himself up off the ground with a painful groan, "On second thought, I'll add some airbags first."

"Now what sorta mongrels do we have here?" a familiar **Australian accent sounded in Kid Flash's ears.

"Captain Boomerang!" Dick shouted zipping away from a worried-looking Robin to aim a punch at the Aussie's face.

"Not so fast you stickybeak Flash-wannabe!" Capt. Boomerang flung three boomerangs from his pockets. Kid Flash dodged two of them, but the third turned into a net and wrapped itself around the yellow-clad boy.

"KF!" Robin shouted with desperate concern as he back flipped in order to avoid the two boomerangs that now headed for him. He then did a backhand spring to avoid them as they came back around. He heard the familiar beep of an explosive and wrapped his cape around himself. One of the bombs exploded at his side, but minimal to no damage was done thanks to the high-density polymer of his Wayne-tech cape.

Glaring at the villain decked out in blue, white, and boomerangs, Robin shouted, "You're not the only Captain Boomerang around here!" He flung several shimmering, black Batarangs towards the supervillain, who counterattacked with boomerangs of his own before jumping back to avoid the explosion that ensued.

As Captain Boomerang leapt back, Kid Flash (having escaped the net) zipped to his side, landing a smooth upper cut on the Captain's jaw. Boomerang stumbled back, rubbing his chin. Now Robin raced forward, sending a kick to the Capt.'s gut and spinning around to through another one before the villain countered with a few flaming boomerangs.

Robin rushed out of the way, purposefully colliding with Kid Flash so they both hit the ground as the flaming boomerangs exploded above them. Boomerang, already running away, sent several more boomerangs the sidekicks' way. These sparked with electricity. Near-effortlessly, Robin ducked away from the weapons, racing towards Boomerang to deliver one final kick, sending the man flying to the ground, but not before several boomerangs came loose and began beeping. Hurriedly, Robin turned away, shielding himself with his cape, knowing he wouldn't get away in time to not get hit by at least detritus from the explosion.

Mere seconds before the detonation, Robin felt hands grab around his waist. He was pulled close to a lean chest, as the world around him became a blur. Almost quarter mile away, the boomerangs blew, and Kid Flash hesitantly unwrapped his arms from around the taller sidekick.

"Still think I'm not strong enough?" The blue eyed, raven-haired charmer gave Robin a brazen smirk.

"Still think I'm not 'up to speed'?" Robin retorted with a not-nearly as flagrant smirk.

The two boys burst into laughter, gripping their sides and smiling joyously. High-fiving the red-headed Batman protégé, Kid Flash grinned.

"Operation ASTER is coming along nicely." He mused.

"Operation what?" Robin demanded, raising an eyebrow dubiously.

"ASTER. Always Strive Towards Enlivening Robin." Kid Flash replied, his smile now stretching from one awkwardly sticking-out ear to the other. "Took me _forever_ to come up with an acronym."

"Yeah but what the hell does aster even mean?" Robin snorted. They shared another good laugh. Soon, the Flash and the Batjet arrived to the scene after dealing with the bank robbery Trickster had indeed attempted.

"So, you think you'll let the boys team up again?" Barry asked warmly to Batman as they escorted a still dizzy Captain Boomerang to the back of a police car.

"Seeing today's... adequate results, I'd say yes. They may team up in the future. Though Kid needs to learn to follow orders with more care." Batman's expression remained stoic though inside, he really hoped he hadn't just made a mistake in trusting Kid Flash.

**[A/N: **

****I'm not Australian, I don't really know anyone Australian, so I wrote Captain Boomerang's dialogue as best I could without being overdramatic with his accent or random Australian slang I looked up from the internet.**

**Since with the last chapters I focused on how Dick and Wally are _different_ in this universe, I wanted to show more of how they are the same with this chapter: namely, through their sense of humor. Did I succeed? **

**I'm a little worried I didn't make it obvious why Wally isn't constantly freaking out like he did in the last chapters... he literally spent the entire week beforehand planning and prepping himself to talk to Kid Flash. He'd even planned "Kid Cheesy-nickname" from the start.**

**Also, I really love Dick's numerous birdy nicknames for Wally. I am determined to have him _not_ call Wally "Robin" like 95% of the time. His favorite nickname for Wally is definitely "Lovebird" my favorite has to be "Rockin' Robin"]**


	6. Chapter 5 and a half

**[A/N: This is a little extra before getting to the team. I thought it'd be nice to have a little more fluff/development of Dick and Wally's friendship before skipping a little over a year time wise.]**

Chapter 5 ½:

Batman lurked in a shadowy corner between two brick buildings in a particularly shady district of Gotham. A distraught woman ran past him, clutching her purse and tripping in her fourinch high heels. A hooded, bulky figure with a knife charged after the panicking woman only to be knocked off his feet from a single punch to the nose.

His nose gushing blood, the criminal lay on the ground, dazed as Batman turned to the woman ordering her, "Get out of here!"

Picking the bleeding criminal up by the collar, the Dark Knight was about to bind the guy's hands when a yellow blur shot out of nowhere. The blur picked up the kidnapper/thief/rapist/murderer (whatever crime he'd been attempting) and disappeared.

Mere seconds went by before the yellow blur returned. The yellow-clad speedster halted in from of Batman, an incredibly hopeful and enthusiastic grin stretching across his features. The Caped Crusader glared. What was Kid Flash doing here? And why did he suddenly have the feeling he was going to be very annoyed in three... two... one...

"Bats! Batsy! Batman!" Kid Flash cheered excitedly, his blues eyes gleaming up towards the experienced hero.

"I don't normally allow Metas in my city, Kid Flash, especially _uninvited_ ones." Batman growled. He'd allowed Wally and Dick to meet several times within the last month. What would possess the young sidekick to bother him at one in the morning while on patrol?

Kid Flash faltered a moment before regaining his previous excitement and courage, "So Batsy-" He followed the black and gray clad man as he weaved his way through the Gotham alleyways, "It's Robin's birthday soon right so-"

Turning with an abrupt jolt to face Robin, he hissed, "He told you." Once again, the Batman does not ask questions.

"Y-yeah... He told me, um..." Kid Flash's eyebrows knitted together from under his mask, "Didn't know it was such a big secret..."

"The Joker likes throwing birthday parties." The Batman stated darkly, possibly suppressing a slight shudder.

"Oh..." Dick responded simply, not wanting to know, in the least, what a Joker birthday party was like; so, he changed the subject, "Anyway, I was hoping me and Robin could hang out that day!" Kid Flash beamed up innocently at the older man.

"No." Batman continued walking, wishing he hadn't parked the Batmobile so far away.

"Aw. Please, Bats? He doesn't already have plans right?"

"That is not your concern-" A glare was shot the young Speedster's way, but he either didn't notice or ignored it outright.

"Please, please, please!" Dick begged, looking as though he was considering clinging to Batman's cape until he said yes.

Batman weighed his options. Say yes to Kid Flash, and he'd have to deal with a Speedster hanging around Wally for the entirety of his birthday. Say no, and he'll be pestered to no end. Say yes, and every birthday Wally will ever have again will be infected with Speedster. Say no, and there would be nowhere on Earth to escape from Kid Flash's persistent begging. Though, he could always just leave for Watch Tower... no then he'd have to deal with Flash getting involved...

Hoping the cold-shoulder treatment would be enough to intimidate the yellow-clad preteen, Batman kept his pace and looked straight ahead without a word. Unfortunately, this seemed to only provoke the sidekick more.

"Bats please, please, please, please, please times infinity squared! A mole of infinity squared pleases! I'll never ask you for anything ever, but please, let me celebrate Robin's birthday with him! He could go down to central and play at an arcade with me, so you wouldn't even have to see me around your city. PLEASE."

With a great sigh, Batman relented, "Fine. But I will be picking him up at five. No later."

"ASTEROUS!" Kid Flash yelled jubilantly, he blurred away with excitement only to race back shyly, "Uh... what time should I pick him up?"

...

The Dark Knight dropped Wally off at Central City Park where Kid Flash (aka Dick) waited eagerly in his civvies. Wally too wore civvies, but cool dark shades rested over his bright green eyes, shielding them from view.

Giving the two boys (mostly Kid Flash) a look that clearly said, "Don't do anything stupid," Batman bid goodbye to his ward and glared at Dick, "Remember 5 o'clock. And do _not_ cause _any_ trouble. I _do_ have access to any and all security cameras in Central City and I _will_ use this access to watch both of you."

Dick grinned shamelessly, sarcasm seeping through his tone, "Good to know."

Robin rolled his eyes, "Yeah, not creepy at all Bats. This is why I have no friends."

"You have me." Dick reminded him.

"You _hardly_ count." Robin teased lightly, "Our relationship is more like Idol and crazy fan. I'm the idol; you're the fan, of course."

"Just don't cause mayhem." Batman growled as he pressed a button. The cockpit in the Batjet closed, and the jet launched skywards.

"Hey Rob~" Robin turned to Dick at the sound of his voice only to find Dick's hands reaching up towards his face.

Immediately, Robin dodged, "Dude, what are you-" But he noticed that in Dick's outstretched hands was a party hat, one with a yellow base and red polka dots. Dick was wearing a matching one with a red base and yellow polka dots.

"What?" Dick inquired, slipping the celebratory headwear onto Robin's ginger head.

"When did you even get those?" Robin demanded, tugging awkwardly at the tight elastic around his chin. _Batman would so not approve..._ _What is he going to say when I get home?_

Beaming radiantly, the blue-eyed boy replied, "I ran home to get them."

"Are you going to be doing that all day?"

"Yep! No come along!" Dick hugged the red head's arms, "We've got a day of partying hard to get to!"

"Batman is going to see me like this..." Robin groused, "And he's going to know what we're doing, so what exactly do you think we'll be doing that counts as partying hard?"

"Yeah, well the way I see it today is like the graph of a Log. We're going to see how close we can get to y=zero without ever intersecting it." **[A/N: its a math thing, not sure how many of you will get it.]**

"Math geek." Robin huffed.

"Says Twitterbird over here, always on the computer."

"Computers are science! Science rules!"

"Yeah, yeah. Whatever. Now to the arcade!"

...

"I can't believe you won twenty games in a row!" Kid Flash griped. Usually he won, with his superhuman reflexes and all, but Robin had beaten him at some zombie shooting game twenty times in a row. _So not whelming._

"Care to admit computers are awesome now? I've got mad skills." Robin grinned as his sunglasses gleamed in the Central City January sun. The two boys were wrapped in fluffy coats as they walked from the arcade towards Dick's next destination. (Kid Flash wore a comically poofy jacket, gloves, and two scarves wound around his neck while Robin wore two hoodies, long warm pants and combat boots. Both boys still had on the party hats.)

"Psh. As if. You probably just hacked the game, didn't you TechnoBird?"

"Hacking doesn't work like that, Dick." Robin shook his head seriously.

"Please, *Ducky, you're the Boy Wonder, you could hack that mailbox over there if you wanted."

"Ok now you're just being absurd." Robin laughed.

Dick snickered, but then mused thoughtfully, "Maybe I should be more acsurd."

"What?" Rob's ginger eyebrows knitted together and for a moment, Dick really wanted to see what his eyes looked like all confused like that.

"Well 'ab' is a root meaning from, away, off so absurd, which means wildly illogical, must mean wildly far from logic. The opposite of 'ab' is 'ac' meaning to, toward, near so 'acsurd' would mean wildly near to logic." Dick explained, trying to ignore Robin's thunderstruck stare.

"...What? No, why? And how? Like how do you come up with these things?" _What is this fascination you have with words... I've never met someone who talks as much as you and still thinks about what they're saying... Batman thinks but doesn't talk, Joker talks but doesn't think... Alfred talks funny._ Wally added to Dick in his mind.

After thinking for a moment, Dick disappeared, leaving a cold wind in his place, but he returned in a second holding a thick book in his gloved hands.

"A dictionary?" Robin questioned, taking the book from Dick's hands and opening it. He gasped as he saw at least every two or three pages had a couple words written into the margins with red pen. Sometimes, words actually in the dictionary were highlighted. Other times, black pen denoted page numbers next to an existing word to show where its opposite was written down.

"I don't really know when it started... Iris got me the dictionary because I kept reading things and wanting to know what some words meant, but a lot of big words even she didn't know, so she bought me that. Nerdy gift I know, but it was sweet, and I don't know, at some point I just started thinking that for all the words in the English language, some important words don't exist so... this happened."

"Wow," was all Robin could say. What else could he say? This was impressive, and yet scary at the same time. How long did Kid Flash spend thinking about words? Robin knew the raven-haired boy was a genius, but he never guessed him to be a smart, overachiever to this level. Robin skimmed through the first few pages until he came to the "As" section, and sure enough, at the top margin on the page labled "Asteroid-Astheny" was the word "Aster".

"I thought so." Robin chuckled, looking down at the dictionary with a smile. Kid Flash had told him about "Aster, the opposite of disaster" before. It was right after he told Wally about "Operation Always Strive Toward Enlivening Robin."

"So Operation ASTER still in effect?" Wally smirked at his friend.

"You know it, BirthdayBird." Dick gave Wally a wink. Robin was taken aback; Dick hadn't given him a flirty wink since their first meeting. He felt extremely awkward for a moment, shifting from foot to foot. _I really need to stop thinking of how cute Dick is..._ Wally smiled nonetheless, hesitantly putting his hand on the shoulder of Kid Flash's poofy jacket.

"You're a good friend, Dick." He said it out of the blue, but the silence was too awkward, and he didn't want Dick making fun of him for freezing up. He knew silence only egged the flirtatious Speedster on. Might as well make an awkward comment and ruin the mood.

But somehow, the mood remained intact and Dick grinned up at his friend. His best friend. His bro.

"You too. Happy Birthday, Rockin' Robin." Dick was comfortable letting his and Robin's relationship develop into whatever fate would have it on its own time. Though, that didn't mean he was going to stop flirting here and there. And it really didn't affect his cheesy nicknames.

**[A/N: *See what I did there? Ducky is a British term for "darling". It's vaguely punny.**

**With this side chapter, I wanted to establish that at least right now, Dick isn't trying to push Wally into a relationship or anything like that, and Wally still is awkward about Dick's flirtation, though it has less to do with any conflict about sexual orientation and more to do with duty. He feels he has a duty to Batman first and romance second or third (depending on school work, but come on, its Wally, romance can't be last priority, just it can't be first in this AU either.)**

**Also, just as I've discussed before about the things that make Dick Dick and Wally Wally no matter what superhero identity they have, I also believe there are some things that make Kid Flash Kid Flash and Robin Robin.**

**Kid Flash's main thing is obvious, speed. As well as snappy comebacks.**

**As for Robin, I feel like martial arts still fighting, and the whole hacking things are Bruce's training, and only that. I don't think it matters who's in the Robin outfit, because the Robin identity has those sort of skills (well the hacking thing is more Tim, but we're going with YJ universe here.)]**


	7. Atlantian for Flirting

**[A/N: Sorry about not updating in a while... first I told myself I'd start writing this chapter when I got to 17 reviews, and then my cat died... It's kinda been a shitty week, but what else could make it better than some Kaldur? So I decided to write a little about Dick and Wally meeting Kaldur for the first time.]**

Chapter 6: Atlantian for "Flirting"

"Robin, Kid Flash, this is Aqualad." Aquaman's booming voice resounded in the sidekicks' eardrums. It'd been five months since Robin's birthday, and now the two stood a top a fairly large Batboat (Dick wondered curiously where Batman gets the money for such things) across from a dark skin, blonde haired, seafoam green eyed fish-person. His skin glistened with water, his hands and (bare) feet were webbed, and he had large slits across his neck (gills).

"It is happy to meet you both." Aqualad spoke hesitantly, concentrating only on his words.

"I think you mean 'good'." Robin corrected before he could help himself.

"It is good to meet you both?" A pout formed on the Atlantian's full lips. He could hardly believe he'd just made such a mistake in front of his King _AND_ Batman.

"Err..." Robin realized he should have just let the slip up go (mostly because Batman's glare was on full power and aimed at the back of his head), "Don't worry about it, Bro."

"Bro?" Aqualad inquired, tilting his head ever so slightly, much like a confused puppy. A smile pulled up Kid Flash's lips, _like a_ cute, _confused puppy._

_Crap._ Robin thought, _I guess they don't teach slang down in Poseidonis_. "It means... well it's short for 'brother,' but..."

"I do not believe we are of the same blood." Aqualad's head tilted even further, his brows furrowing together now. Dick could not stand it anymore; the teen was practically _begging_ to be flirted with.

"Nah, Aqualad, Bro just is a term friends use." Kid Flash zipped up to the much taller boy and grinned impishly.

"Then why do you not simply call me 'friend'?" clearly, Surface-dweller's culture would confound Aqualad for a while, which only made Dick's smile broaden.

"I'd like to call you more than that." _Worth it_. Dick thought as all three present mentors along with Robin proceeded to throw him menacing glares.

"Is there more than being friends on the Surface World?" Aqualad's voice held pure curiosity and a dash of eagerness to learn. Kid Flash and Robin exchanged a look. _Is he serious?_ Kid Flash turned to the gilled teen with an increasingly wicked grin, _This is going to be soooo fun_.

"Oh yeah, there's a lot more than being _just_ friends-"

"Kid Flash!" Aquaman's voice boomed threateningly furthering Aqualad's confusion.

"Okay okay, geez... but one more thing..." Dick once again turned to the dark Atlantian, putting on an innocent smile while his eyes gleamed with mischief, "I didn't know heaven was underwater."

"I apologize, Kid Flash, I do not understand- Surface-dweller's concept of 'heaven' tends to be located in the skies does it not?" But, Dick leaned in closer to Aqualad, standing on his tiptoes to look him in the face.

"Yeah, but heaven must be underwater because where else would an angel-fish like you come from?" Dick had to bite his tongue to keep from laughing at Aqualad's thoroughly confused expression.

"Kid Flash!" This time Robin spoke out against Dick's advances. He tugged at his younger friends arm, pulling him away from the bemused ocean-dweller.

"Thank you, Robin" Batman said, not sounding all the grateful, but not ungrateful either. Kid Flash made a mental-note to look up some new prefixes later. "Now, to get to the matter at hand-"

The rest of the sidekick's time was spent listening to lectures from their mentors (which Aqualad found fascinating,) donning some scuba gear and exploring a bit of the ocean floor (mostly for Batman to experiment on the effects combining Barry and Dick's speed abilities with being submerged in water) and a few test runs of some new Batboat radar equipment (Robin was the only one besides Batman allowed near that set of gadgetry.)

At the end of it, the three fairly exhausted sidekicks stood atop the Batboat once again to bid goodbye. Though, Robin was using the time to convince Aqualad to use the word "Bro."

"You are not my brother," the Atlantian insisted for the fifth time, "I do not wish to call you such."

"Well, what are you going to call us then?" Robin finally sighed exasperatedly.

"I hope to call you friends. Is that acceptable?" Aqualad turned to Kid Flash worriedly; he still hadn't grasped that Dick had been flirting with him, and the two more experience sidekicks weren't sure if it was a language barrier or if the teen was truly that dense.

With a short sigh, Kid Flash determined messing with the newest sidekick for a second time would not be taken well, by anyone. A genuine smile spread across the raven-haired boy's face, "Of course that's acceptable. You, me, Robin, Roy, we'll all be best friends."

"Roy?"

"Kid-What-Secret-Identity? means Speedy. He's Green Arrow's sidekick. Oh but don't call him that, he touchy about it. Claims he's no one's errand boy or something like that." Robin shrugged before sticking out his hand, "So, Aqualad? Friends?"

"Kaldur'ahm." Aqualad stated, taking the freckly Boy Wonder's hand.

"I don't speak Atlantian, Bro-I mean-Friend." Robin corrected himself quickly.

Aqualad shook his head, "Excuse my lack of clarity, my friend. Kaldur'ahm is my name. My friends call my Kaldur."

"Well, as long as we're giving out secret identities," Kid Flash gave the two teens a huge grin, wrapping his arms around each of their shoulders. It was a slightly uncomfortable position for all of them considering the blue-eyed boys height (or lack there of) "My name's Richard, but everybody calls me Dick."

Leaning forward at a cramped angle, Robin added with an overbearing undertone of superiority to cover up his *disappointment, "I'm not allowed to give you guys my identity, since it work with _The Batman_. We've got lots of top-secret super hush-hush stuff we deal with. It's for your safety that you don't know who we are, because me and Bats? We sooo don't need protection, nope. We don't even need secret identities, we're that badass-"

"Oh stop your chirping Tweetybird." Dick rolled his eyes, elbowing the Boy Wonder in the gut (he took it though he could've **dodged. The three continued their uncomfortably angled group-hug until Batman called Robin in the Batboat, effectively kicking those standing on it off. Aqualad waved goodbye to his new friends as one sailed away and the other ran atop the water.

Kaldur dived down under the water, catching up to Aquaman. He spoke in Atlantian gladly, "My King, shall I be meeting Kid Flash and Robin again?"

Orin smiled kindly at his young acolyte, "Why I'm sure of it, Kaldur'ahm. You three, and Roy I should think, might even make good members of the Justice League someday. Though you are all far too young now."

**[A/N: Ooooh foreshadowing. Also this was really fluffy... I'm not sure if that's good or bad, but as you can see Wally as Robin has loosened up about Dick as Kid Flash, so yay.**

***Wally's disappointed that he can't share his name like everyone else, he feels left out ;A; poor baby.**

****Has anyone else noticed that in YJ Dick hits Wally a lot? And Wally just takes it... he's totally fast enough to just dodge, but he doesn't. I think its out of respect for Robin.**

**ADSLKFJIWEFHFPIHE I'm sorry I keep promising you'll see the Young Justice team next chapter, no next chapter! Ugh!**

**Also, I greatly appreciate feedback. As Robin would say, reviews are strongly couraged. So please decide of your own volition whether you would like to review or not.]**


	8. Chapter 7

**[A/N: Sorry this chapter took so long.**

**I'm so sorry this chapter is so long and that it's basically a rewrite of a scene from Independence Day. ORIGINALLY this chapter was going to be a quick rewrite of this scene with some insight in Wally's mind, a little insight into Dick's mind, and a time skip to see Wally with Batman after "Young Justice" is formed but before they meet M'gann. But this chapter is already ridiculously long, so I'm breaking it up.**

**PS. I promise I will not just rewrite all the episodes. That would be boring as hell. I wanted to show this scene because this is how it all _started_.]**

Chapter 7:

"Quick debrief to discuss the coincidence of four ice villains attacking on the same day." Batman spoke to his fellow league members gruffly before addressing the sidekicks sitting (or in Roy's case standing) in the Hall of Justice, "We shouldn't be long."

He turned as the computer proceeded to scan him and his fellow leaguers. Kid Flash settled into his chair, kicking his feet up over one armrest and resting his head on the other. Aqualad leaned calmly against the back of his own brown leather chair while Robin sat rather stiffly in his own, as if afraid to breathe. His hand twitched. Wally hated sitting still, but what else could he do? He was so overwhelmed being in the Hall for the first time, and knowing that one wrong move could possibly end his chances of ever getting into the League.

Wally aka Robin turned to his Speedster friend with a slightly irked frown. The raven-haired kid looked positively whelmed. Couldn't Dick have a little more appreciation for such a huge step in their hero careers? Wally knew Dick wanted to make his own name and find independence just as much as he did.

But, that being said, Wally also knew that it was just Dick's way. He was always casual about things, and honestly, Barry had probably snuck him into the Hall before so it wasn't too big of a deal for him. Sighing internally (because he was still too petrified to breathe) Robin leaned back too, resting both his arms on the seat, content with waiting. He thought everyone else was content too; he thought all was going well. That is, until Roy started flipping his shit.

"That's it?" Speedy demanded, to everyone's surprise, marching up to towards the mentors with an irate glare. "You promised us a real look inside, not some glorified backstage pass!"

Aquaman responded, but Wally was too shocked to process what the Atlantian King was saying. _What the HELL Roy?_ Roy had wanted this for so long. What was he thinking? Wally glanced towards Kid Flash who looked a couple centimeters away from falling out of his chair. His blue eyes widening in shock, he glanced at Robin. The two then shared the same look of horrified, confused, shock with Kaldur.

By now Speedy was gesturing angrily to the tourists looking through the window above them. "Who CARES what side of the glass we're on?"

Green Arrow stepped forward, towards his protégé. Wally knew Green Arrow had never been the best of mentors, but nonetheless, the Boy Wonder had to have respect for a superhero without superpowers. He was kind of like Batman except more alcohol addicted, friendlier, and with a swank mustache. "Roy, you just need to be patient."

"What I need is respect." The don't-call-me-sidekick-not-after-today eighteen-year-old declared.

He turned to hid compatriots, his fellow heroes-in-training, attempting to persuade them to his reasoning, "They're treating us like kids. Worse like _sidekicks_." The hat-wearing teen uttered the word in disgust. "We deserve better than this *shit."

Once again, the three other sidekicks shared a look; this time it was one of confusion more than anything else. They turned back to stare blankly at the oldest not-sidekick.

Kid Flash pouted his thoughts racing (as they always did), _Why you gotta be like that Roy? Always expecting more out of everything and everyone... Two years and you haven't loosened up one bit. Despite all my work on Operation Always Strive Toward Enlivening Roy... (Operation ASTER B as I like to call it.) Oh ouch, by the look Batsy's giving you, you have eleven... ten seconds before a Batarang skims your shoulder... I should know, I've been there. If it weren't for my hyper-accelerated healing you'd still be able to see the last scratch on of those things gave me... of course that happened about ten minutes ago, but seriously Roy what's got you so concerted?_

"You're fucking shitting me, right? You're playing their game? WHY? Because you think they play fair? Today was supposed to be THE day," Roy sliced his hand through the air furiously, "Step one in becoming full fledged members of the League."

Kid Flash couldn't take it anymore. Looking to Robin to make sure he'd back him up on this, Robin spoke, "Well, obviously. Seriously, Roy is your hat on too tight because I thought step one a tour of the HQ?"

"Except the Hall isn't the Leagues real HQ. I bet these lying son-of-a-bitches never told you it's just a bullshit front for tourists and a pit stop for catching zetabeam teleporter tubes to the real thing. A fucking orbiting satellite called The Watchtower."

Various degrees of shock appeared on everyone's faces (with the exception of Batman who currently held a stiff glare locked on Roy as he reached for a Batarang.) _Roy's lucky tourists are here..._ Dick thought before resuming his state of shock.

Wally was staring in unbelieving horror. The real HQ was in SPACE? _How could Bruce never tell me that? How could he... I'm not just a sidekick, I'm his son aren't I? How could he not... not trust me enough to lie about something like that?_

"You're NOT helping your cause here Son, especially with that language, stand down." Aquaman spoke wisely, but Roy was too caught up in his own outrage to listen.

"Or WHAT? You'll send me to my room? Good fucking luck with that. And I'm not your son! I'm not even his. I thought I was his partner... but. Not anymore. FUCK this SHIT." Roy took off his bright yellow hat and slammed it to the ground.

_Oh my god. Roy just quit. Roy just quit being a sidekick_ Robin thought, and in his peripheral vision he noticed a tourist snapping a picture of the fallen hat through the glass. Using his (heavily-trained via Batman) skill of reading lips, he noticed the kid saying something to his friend about "Poor hat" and the other responding with something possibly close to, "So making a facebook for that hat."

Robin looked back at his friend and fellow ginger in shock. Storming away, Roy regarded Kid Flash, Robin and Kaldur (Kaldur in particular) "Guess they're right about you bastards." He kept walking; his back facing them, he stated, "You're not ready. Roy out."

While the three sidekicks stood staring as Roy continued his way out, the large computer in the library began beeping with an alarm. It was an incoming transmission from Superman. Robin closed his eyes underneath the mask, trying not to cringe as he heard the door slam shut. Kid Flash stood now, visibly affected by Roy's exit. The blue-eyed sidekick appeared torn between chasing after his oldest friend and staying here with his best friend.

Another incoming transmission alarm sounded, interrupting Superman and Batman's conversation. Wally only heard something about "small fire" and "having suspicions about Cadmus." The ginger looked to his mentor where he stood surrounded by the other Leaguers. That was something he knew he could never be, a leader. He could never take charge and have an entire team center on him. Wally pushed the thoughts to the back of his mind as he felt Kid Flash move closer to his side.

_He decided to stay._ For the first time, Wally realized he'd assumed Dick would leave. Dick had met Speedy first. He'd flirted with Speedy first. There was a five-year age gap, sure, but Dick and Roy appeared just as close as Wally and Dick. Plus, Robin knew Dick didn't actually have any romantic feelings towards the sidekicks. If he ever did, surely they were small crushes that went away as quick as it would take to run past another cute face.

Kaldur now stood next to Wally as the Batman finished his transmission with Zatara and Superman, "Then Cadmus can wait..." He pressed a button, messaging the League as the three sidekicks nodded to each other and approached. They all expected it to be their first mission with the League. Even with the shock of Roy walking out on them, Robin and Kid Flash especially were excited about the prospects of a League mission. "All Leaguers rendezvous at Zatara's coordinates. Batman out."

The Dark Knight turned from the massive computer system to face Robin, "Stay put." The order came as a shock. He was meant to just _sit_ there? He trained as Robin since he was nine and Batman didn't trust him to handle a "blocking out the sun" mission? In the past month he and Bats took down two block-out-the-sun plots, one blow-up-the-moon plot, and three steal-the-moon plots.

"Batman, why?" Robin demanded, automatically regretting it. He was questioning a direct order: _Batman's_ direct order.

Aquaman and the Flash stood at Batman's side, apparently, fully supporting the Dark Knight's decision to keep the sidekicks from any action. In his deep as the ocean voice, Aquaman explained, "This is a League mission, Young One-"

"You're not trained." The Flash interrupted. Always the impatient ones: the Speedsters.

"Then what would you call the past three years?" The Flash's sidekick demanded. Robin didn't even have to look at Dick; he knew the yellow-clad Speedster and he were thinking the exact same thing.

"Kid, I meant you're not trained to work as part of this team." Barry gestured to himself, Batman and Aquaman. Though his voice held some anger (more than likely due to the argument with Green Arrow's ex-sidekick,) the Flash's voice held a fatherly tone. However much his adoptive father wanted to make Dick see his point, Kid Flash was not about to listen. He crossed his arms, "hmph"ing as Aquaman added.

"There will be other missions, Boys. When you're ready."

Batman glared towards Robin, "But for now," the glare's strength increased ten fold and Wally froze up like Icicle Jr, "Stay. Put."

The League members walked out, Manhunter and Green Arrow having a side conversation to themselves, and Red Tornado lingering for a moment longer before leaving the three sidekicks alone.

"What is this! Ugh! I can't believe this 'when we're ready' crap! Howarewesupposedto EVER bereadywhentheytreatuslike... like Sidekicks!" Kid Flash griped uselessly, pacing in between Rob and AL in his blind frustration.

"...My mentor... My King... I thought that..." Kaldur started, putting a webbed hand to his emotionally wounded heart, "That he trusted-"

"Trust?" Kid Flash laughed, "None of them trust us! Did you here Flash? Flash is my _father_ and he didn't trust me – or any of us – with the basics! They've got a secret HQ. In. Space." Kid Flash threw his hands up in the air wildly. He stomped his foot for emphasis before continuing his pacing. Abruptly, he turned to Robin, "Did you know?"

"What?" Wally finally shook himself out of his frozen state to look Kid Flash in the eyes (the perfect blue eyes). "Dude, no? What? How could you even think that?"

"I just..." Dick turned away shaking his head angrily, "No, sorry, I just thought Batman would've told _you-_"

Laughing bittered, Robin responded, "Batman doesn't tell me anything."

"But our secret identities-"

"I hacked the Batcave's systems... that's how I knew everyone's secret identities, but Batman's computer has got some triple encrypted files that even I can't hack, and its almost all League stuff." Dejectedly, Wally hung his head too. All he was ever good for was hacking; yet, he couldn't even pull up simple League mission reports. Batman would leave for weeks without telling Wally where he was going, and he took it because he was Robin because, good little Robins don't question orders. And, now Kid Flash thought he knew something they didn't? Dick thought Robin would keep a secret that huge from his best friend? How could that be possible? If he believed that why did he even stay?

"What is it they aren't telling us?" Kaldur mirrored his two friends in their disappointed frustration.

"I have a better question." Purposefully, Wally glanced toward his best friend, "Why didn't you leave with R-Speedy?" adding quickly to save face, "Why didn't we all leave with Speedy?" Internally, Robin cursed himself. First, for being too much of a coward to ask why he'd chosen Wally over Roy. Second, because now, in the middle of the Hall of Justice in front of Kaldur, was not the time to start an argument like that. Third, for how Kid Flash's mouth drooped at the question.

The ensuing awkward was palpable as Kid Flash tried to determine a way to answer Robin without _really_ answering. Kaldur knew even if he had an answer to the question, it was not meant for him to answer. Attempting to change the subject, Kaldur grasped at straws to think of something to talk about. Anything. All he could think of was, "What is... Project Cadmus?"

"...Dunno" Kid Flash responded. He smirked at Robin, "Our CodingCanary here can figure it out though, right?"

"Well," Robin considered it for a moment. It was worth a shot. (deep inside, he knew he'd do anything to keep that smile on Kid Flash's face.) "It's the same system as the Batcave..."

"Get to it Lovebird!"

"Should I leave?" Kaldur asked. These past two years he had come to understand both Surface-dwelling sarcasm and Surface-dwelling flirting – which made him less fun to flirt with.

"Oh no, Angelfish please stay," Kid Flash winked at Kaldur as Robin got to work at the vast monitor. Only a _little_ less fun to flirt with that is.

"I got it." Robin almost aggressively cut off Kid Flash's flirtation as he brought up the file, which contained a picture of the building as well as its address and a live video feed of it via some nearby security camera, "Project Cadmus: genetics lab here in DC... that's it? But if Batman's suspicious..." Wally closed the file and turned to his friends, "...Maybe we... no it's a bad idea."

"I thought bad ideas were _my_ area of expertise." KF chimed in eagerly, his blue eyes sparkling with mischief, "So what's you're 'bad idea' or are you not going to tell us? Cuz that would so not be whelming." Robin groaned at Dick already using the new word he'd discovered all but ten minutes ago.

"Well, I mean, um" Robin shifted uncomfortably, before freezing again as he remembered Batman's lesson number four: show no weakness. (For those curious, lesson one was never go to the bathroom without his utility belt.) "We could investigate..."

Kaldur quirked an eyebrow, "Solve their case before they do?" a smirk formed on his full Atlantian lips, "That would be poetic justice."

"Hey," Kid Flash laughed creepily, "They're all about justice."

"But... It's a bad idea!" Robin objected, "Batman said to stay put," He couldn't afford to just up and leave. After what Roy did, not even if Roy hadn't caused such a ruckus, Batman still wouldn't take it well if he went on a secret mission without any of the mentors, directly disobeying orders.

"Lovebird you gotta calm down or you'll start molting, bird pattern baldness is a serious problem." Dick chuckled at that, running a red-gloved hand through his shimmering raven hair. "Anyway, Bats said to stay out of the blotting-out-the-sun mission; not this.

"Wait," Wally put a hand on Kid Flash's shoulder, "So you're going to Cadmus, with or without me? 'Cause if you're going, I'm going." The masked boy wonder stated this adamantly before turning to Kaldur with a quick smile. Kid Flash turned with his own pleading grin, willing for the Atlantian to give his assent.

"Just like that? We're a team on a mission?" Kaldur's eyebrow arched over his seafoam-green eye.

"We've always been a team." Kid Flash remarked. As he said that, his blue eyes, glistening with excitement, glimpsed towards Robin.

**[A/N: **

***You know Roy would totally talk like a sailor if it weren't for Young Justice being a "kid's" TV show; so, I took the liberty of changing his lines just a little bit. It's an AU so I totally have the right to do that. Also I apologize for dropping the F bomb so many times. I felt it fit Roy's anger in the scene so I went with it, good thing I decided to rate this T from the get-go.**

**I wanted to include all the hints at romance in this chapter (and all those other chapters actually) because there are two main factors that keep Dick and Wally apart under their original superhero guises. The first being Dick's role as the Batman's protégé and the second being Wally's skirt chasing.**

**-Dick as Robin not only is secretive, but raised on a high pedestal Wally doesn't actually think he can touch. Meanwhile, Dick as Kid Flash is not only more open, but more accessible. Dick is also extremely brave and self-confident so he doesn't see why he can't be with Wally. **

**-I truly believe Wally West is not 100% straight despite all his skirt chasing. He's simply using that to deal with his low self-esteem and raging hormones. It's not crazy for him, being a teenaged boy, to attempt to show his worth through sexual conquest. When he's Robin, however, he knows Batman would look down on such distractions as flirting (sounds hypocritical of Bruce I know, but its true).**

**Reviewing inspires me! Thank you to all who read my work!]**


	9. Chapter 8 Superboy

**[A/N: Those with aversions to cheesy nicknames and incessant/inappropriately timed flirting may want to leave this fic now.**

**Also I realized that I haven't been talking at all about Wally's love of souvenirs. Dammit. Because he still totally loves souvenirs as Robin and I kept meaning to mention it. I'm sorry for my stupid; I hope it's not contagious. Fair warning, I hardly proofread this.]**

Chapter 8: Superboy

Sublevel 52, Project Kr, blah blah blah techno garble Dick neither understood nor cared about. OK it was totally, mind blowingly cool that Robin could, in seconds, hack into any mainframe at will, (like Dick even knew what a "mainframe" was) but his super-speed had been the thing that found (crash into) those G-nome things. And, in a minute, Dick would be the one to find Superman-in-a-can, so really, how could Robin's hacking compare?

With a slight grimace as his competitive side flared, Dick relented mentally _Okay, so maybe Robin's still magnificent... more than that... overnificent? no that's not whelming..._

Like his speeding thoughts, Kid Flash blurred ahead of Aqualad and Robin, through the subterranean tunnels, which looked like the insides of some sort of monster. The dark haired speedster buzzed around a corner, his thoughts wandering to his one-sided race with Robin. In Kid Flash's mind, he was always racing everybody, but especially Robin.

Suddenly, some woman in a lab coat came into view, and as hurriedly as meta-humanly possibly, Kid Flash dug his heals into the ground trying to keep from bulldozing into her. He barely missed her, though she still tripped over her feet as she jumped out of the way. The gate beside the woman stood wide open, waiting for a passkey to shut it. He made it to the Project Kr room first! _Winner winner chicken dinner! mmm chicken. Ah crap, not the time for my hyper-metabolism to kick in. SHUT IT STOMACH_.

"Must you always run ahead?" Dick heard Kaldur's voice behind him as he slipped the woman's pass off her neck. Never know when it'll come in handy.

"Yeah, Dude. For real! I can't hack stuff at the speed of sound. I'm good not that good." Robin's voice called. He barely kept pace behind Kaldur as his blue holo-computer kept him distracted from running.

"Oh... right sorry." Dick's heart fell. No one could keep pace with him. Not even superheroes. He'd always be running so far ahead of everybody. Sometimes it felt lonely...

Robin put his gloved hand on Dick's shoulder. A smiley smirk spread across his ginger face before he ordered seriously, "Move in! Those things should be right behind us!"

_Oh right, we were being chased by G-nomes..._

"Into the creepy cave Batboy." Dick gestured the Batcave-dwelling, masked beauty into the all too alien-esophagus looking cave and swiped the passkey he'd stolen over the keypad.

"Batboy?" Robin demanded as the door began to shut _Not quick enough!_ Dick could feel a jittery sensation rising in him as he realized he could hear the stampede of monsters just down the corridor.

"Would you prefer Nightowl? Or Nightwing possibly?" Robin noticed Kid Flash's anxiousness and quickly connected his computer to the keypad, hastily bypassing a few firewalls to hack the speed restrictor on the heavy, cylindrical door.

"For the love of Poiseidon, shut up for ten seconds!" Aqualad's deep voice rung out, as he kicked the control pad in with a bare webbed foot and the door closed almost immediately, though not without quite a few electric sparks flying this way and that.

"Well, looks like the door's disabled." Robin commented.

"Looks like we're trapped," Aqualad quipped, almost irritated.

But, then, from the middle of the room where some foreign (like intergalactic type foreign) looking control-panels stood in front of a glass case, Kid Flash let out a gasp.

"*Seastar, **Raven-cape, you'll want to see this!"

Curiously, Robin and Aqualad followed Dick's voice through the dim, eerie lighting and stood beside him, gazing astounded at Kid Flash's find.

"That looks just like-" Robin's breath caught in his mouth as all the dots were connected. Project Kr. Project Krypton. Krypton as in Superman. Cadmus deals with DNA and forming new life. It was a new Superman. Specifically a sixteen-year-old bodied clone of Superman.

"Is he? A clone?" Robin wondered aloud. Needing to confirm his theory, he connected his wrist computer with the large control panel before him. "...Weapon designated Superboy... a clone grown in... oh my god, sixteen weeks! From Superman's DNA"

"From Superman's stolen DNA," Aqualad interjected.

"Yeah, well either way, no way the big guy knows about this." Robin muttered back as he continued reading the documents.

"What are the G-nomes in his pod doing?" Dick wondered, pressing a scarlet-gloved hand against the glass before zipping back to look at the hacked info over Robin's shoulder.

"They're telepathic... they're force feeding him information while his solar suit allows him to absorb yellow sun radiation." Robin replied, "They're practically making a slave out of Superman's... Superman's son!"

"We have to get him out of here!" Dick suddenly exclaimed adamantly, already pressing some random buttons he hoped would do just that. _Crap I shouldn't have done that... wow I'm hungry. I wonder what time it is. Damn mini-superman is smokin'._

Dick never could keep his thoughts on track when he was hungry.

"Kid Press-All-The-Buttons! What the hell do you think you're-" Robin growled menacingly.

It was too late though. The glass tube opened and Superman-in-a-can's eyes popped open to reveal vivaciously intense blue eyes, not too unlike Dick's. Robin noticed, with a sinking heart, the glowing red eyes of three, monkey-like purse-dog-sized G-nomes above Mini Supes' head... _Mini Supes... Supey._

Abruptly, the clone rushed forward, colliding with Kaldur like a boulder into water, sending the Atlantean flying back with Dick and Robin tossing themselves to the side. Robin managed to evade any harsh blows and landed with slightly-impressive grace. He whipped out a couple batarangs, sending them flying to distract the Superman clone from going fishing.

Dick ran a lap around the room, building up his speed. His adrenaline-filled body coursed with his own competitive nature and flirtatious habits. Again, thinking and hunger are two immiscible senses. _Immiscible? Well hunger and thinking are not solids so they can't be insoluble, but..._

His thoughts halted briefly as he heard his pleasant little parakeet call out, "Over here Supey!

Dashing past the Boy Wonder before running circles around the hunky teenaged Kryptonian sporadically, Dick laughed in his high-pitched, eerie way, "Supey? More like Sexy!"

Taking his speed and the clone's confusion to his advantage, Kid Flash leaned flirtatiously against the muscular Kryptonian's shoulder. He paused just long enough to wink, saying "Hey, Superbabe." before zooming away excitedly.

Unfortunately, Dick had failed to calculate just how fast Superman's clone would be able to move, which is ironic considering his love of math. For the third time, thinking while hungry works about as well as mixing oil and water. Project Kr or the clone or Supey or Sexy, whatever you want to call him, managed to chase after Dick, grab him by the wrist, and sling him to the ground with a harsh tug, nearly ripping Kid Flash's arm from his socket.

"KID FLASH!" Robin cried, letting more batarangs fly. By now, Aqualad recovered from his harsh landing and brought up his water-bearers, attempting to suck the water dripping from a recently broken glass tube.

Supercloneboy hurtled towards Robin, hauling the ginger into his thick arms, spinning him like a shot put and tossing him towards Aqualad. The two sidekick's collision sent Kaldur to the ground again with Robin sprawled painfully beside him.

Once again, Kid Flash paced around the clone, carefully avoiding any patterned movement and staying out of arm's reach. The clone's eyebrows pulled together grumpily, as though Dick was an annoying fly continually buzzing in his ear. Fittingly, he swatted clumsily yet powerfully at the bright yellow speedster.

Suppressing a yelp, Dick avoided the blow by centimeters, "I don't wanna hurt you but-" He let his feet take him around and around the room, but after a lap or so (which took about two seconds) Supey(Sexy) was at his heels. Dick picked up the pace, feeling every molecule in his legs twitch and bounce and vibrate as he approached the sound barrier. His increased speed allowed him to completely lap the Kryptonian. Rocketing towards the unaware clone, Dick readied himself for plowing into the tall, toned, boy. _Sexy or not NO ONE hurts my friends. ESPECIALLY not Lovebird!_

"-Bros before hoes!" Dick finished his sentence, launching himself forward in an all out tackle towards the Kryptonian, only to have the Boy of Steel turn around. With a pounding, thundering, crushing sensation of pain, everything went black.

He heard sounds. Mumbled, jumbly sounds. A vague presence hovered in his foggy brain like a shadow. A shadow without an owner, as if it did not belong in his brain. _Wake up_. Dick wasn't sure in the slightest where he got the idea that waking up would be a good idea, but he obeyed the command nonetheless. With a groan and a grogginess making his every molecule heavy, Dick opens his eyes only to be met with the sight of a Superman clone staring intensely at him through a glass tube. To clarify, Dick was strapped into a glass containment cell while "Supey" gazed at him as though trying to shoot laser beams through his forehead.

"Dude, what's your deal? What do you want?" Dick only realized his question was dangerous when it was too late, and the words had already flown out of his mouth.

"You wake up locked behind glass and that's what you say?" Robin's whispered voice echoed at Dick's side, he strained his neck to see the boy wonder strapped in like himself – hanging by the arms and looking groggy at best.

"At least Kid Flash's first reaction was not to flirt, Robin." Kaldur's voice whispered back furiously before Dick could respond. Instead he looked back at the clone to find him, that's right, still staring.

"Dude! Stop staring at me like that! If I didn't know you'd just beat us to a pulp a couple minutes ago, I'd think you were crushing on me!" Kid Flash blurted out; Robin and Kaldur's exasperated groans followed suit.

"Kid! Stop talking now! And I doubt our _friend_ had full control over his actions, anyway." Kaldur stated, authority rattled in his wise, almost irritated voice. Wow, Kaldur was almost irritated a lot today. _Reirritated? Reritated?_

"What is a crush?" a completely unfamiliar voice asked. The tone was deep, gruff, but soft with curiosity and confusion.

"He can talk..." Robin mumbled in amazement.

"Yes _he_ can-" Superboy seemed about to go into another rage until Kid Flash stopped him with a cheeky smirk spreading across his face.

"A crush, my dear, innocent clone, is when you like someone more than just platonically, but you don't _love_ them yet."

"Love?" Superboy muttered, still confused, his eyes glanced about the room as though he could find a clue in the soulless cave of a laboratory.

"You don't know what love is? What, have you never seen the moon?" Kid Flash asked the question before he realized Superboy was raised as a weapon; he'd probably never even seen the sun. The wounded look on the clone's face told Dick everything he needed to know. "H-hey, its okay, we can show you the moon." His stomach grumbled and Dick became painfully aware once more that he was stuck within a glass tube, "That is, if you get us out of here." He added in a wink for good measure, and Robin grimaced at the sight.

Seeing Superboy's unsure eyes, Kaldur added, "We cannot get out of here without your help. Please, Superboy. Do you not want to be like Superman? Is that not your purpose?"

"Yeah, just think, what would Superman do?" Robin remarked almost sarcastically, but the clone didn't seem to understand sarcasm because when the Cadmus director and Guardian walked into the laboratory, Superboy decided to help, or it seemed he was going to until the G-nomorph took over his mind.

Suddenly, metal arms sprung from the pods and attached themselves painfully to Dick's chest. He struggled, screaming and yelling due to the agony as sharp needles pierced through his skin and veins, sucking his blood out like he had an infinite supply. Things were going dark again. _Pain. Darkness. Hunger. No oh god, it hurts._ He just barely heard something about "deleting the source material" as he attempted to hold back his screams of pain. _I'm going to die. Robin's going to die. Oh god no. Not Robin, please. If I make it out and you don't... No I've already lost my parents. Oh god this is my fault. I ran too far ahead. I ran too far ahead and you and Kaldur got hurt trying to catch up_.

But just as all seemed lost, a thunderous sound of denting, tearing metal sounded about the room. The pain relinquished as the metal arms moved away, and Dick was able to open his eyes. He breathed in relief as he saw Superboy knocking the Cadmus director and G-nome followers away with on hand.

"You here to help us or break my heart again?" Dick smirked while he gave Superboy a half-assed eye smolder (give him a break he was starving and probably about to die from blood loss.)

"Or are you just here to fry us?" Robin remarked defensively, his eyes trained on Kid Flash and his fingers fiddling with the locks around his wrist.

"Well, seeing as I don't seem to have heat vision, I guess I'm here to help." Superboy stepped towards Dick's pod, but Robin quickly leapt from his own, having just moments before, finished picking the locks holding him._ If Batman were here, he would have my head_ _for taking so long_. Robin thought mentally.

"Oh you _definitely_ have heat vision." Kid Flash beamed innocently despite the suggestion in his voice, furthering Robin's grimace.

Robin pressed the release button for the pods and ran ahead of Superboy, giving him a remarkable batglare. "You get Aqualad, I'd get Kid Flirt." His voice came out strained and possessive, and Superboy glared back at the ginger Bat-hatchling.

"Don't you give me orders either," but Superboy followed directions anyway.

Climbing up the pods to pick the locks around Kid Flash's wrists, Robin continued to grimace at the blue-eyed, raven-haired speedster.

"You're the best, Lovebird." Dick smiled cheerily. How did he _always_ find something to smile about, even in situations like this? Sure Robin did the same, but that's because his mentor was Batman, you either forced yourself to see the silver-lining or you drowned in despair like Batman.

"Don't you start, _Kid_." Robin growled, finishing the right lock, "Don't you flirt with me like nothing happened, like everything's okay, like you didn't just hit on an evil clone."

"Supey's not evil..." Dick commented, now focusing his eyes on the way Robin toyed with the lock, his emotions seemed to be distracting him – how un-Robin.

"But he coulda been! It doesn't even matter, you flirt with everyone anyways, I mean seriously! What the hell?"

The left lock opened and now Kid Flash was set free. He raced out, as Robin agilely made his way, parkour style, off the pod.

Muttering huffily, Dick whispered, "You've never had a problem with it before."

"What are you talking about?" _Crap, Robin heard._ "I've always hated it when you flirt with other people!" He gave Kid Flash a heavily reprimanding look as he brought out the old Bat-water-ski-handle and attached it to Kid Flash's sled-dog-like belt.

"Yeah well- ...wait. _Other_ people?" Kid Flash's voice became dumbstruck.

"...This is not the time or place to be talking about this! Mush!"

Kid Flash almost didn't react, but he saw Superboy racing far ahead of him with Kaldur trailing after, and his competitive side took over almost automatically. Robin barely had time to activate his Batskates before Dick took off in a blur of yellow and red.

_Gotta win, gotta win. Wait. Does Robin like me? Maybe? Possibly? Oh god, I need to eat. Oh god I should be trying to talk to Robin about this... or I shouldn't. Snap, he must be really mad at me for flirting with Superboy. Crap, crap, crap. Thinking and hungry go together as well as pentane dissolves in dihydrogenmonoxide. Not at all. Where's Iris when you need her?_

**[A/N: *There are three nicknames Dick came up for Kaldur that stuck, the first being Angelfish, the second being Seastar, and third being left for you to find out ^^**

****Robin's cape is black like a raven's feathers... well I thought it was cute... Red Robin because Wally's a red head, I'd been avoiding using it obviously because its Tim's namesake, but then I figured, what the hell.**

**Ahahaha, what is canon?**

**I apologize for all past, present, and future of the following transgressions:**

**Updating slowly**

**Typos/shitty spelling**

**Foul language (see above)**

**Grammar errors**

**Fair warning, it will only get slashier from here.]**


	10. What to Do

**[A/N: aaw you guys are so sweet in your reviews! Thank you so much for sticking with me and reading!]**

Chapter 9: What to do...

*Central City *

The entire Cadmus incident ended with incident. Major incident. Supey met Superman, and that was quite the _dis_aster, and Batman gave them an ear-full about following orders (Though Kid Flash gathered Robin got even more lectures later. Poor Birdie.) Heck, even Barry was steamed. "You should've called!" He kept saying, and then Iris agreed with him.

_Uuugh_. Dick sighed. He sat on a plush lay-z-boy chair in front of the television. Supey (he had no where to stay since Batman was still working on making "arrangements" so the Allen's decided to let him stay with them) sat to his right. In the other room, Iris was filing some news reports from that week (she can't always be cooking! This is the twenty-first century for aster's sake!)

Sighing once more, Dick propped his chin on palm and pouted. _I haven't seen Sweety-Tweety since then... it's only been a couple days sure, but didn't Robby-chickadee practically, like, _confess_ to me?_

Superboy glanced over, noticing something was off with the raven-haired boy. Keep in mind, Superboy was used to Dick's moodiness after two days of living with him, but he seemed to be developing his own sense of humor so he chose the moment to comment.

"Mrs. Allen! Dick's having an emotion!"

Dick turned to glare at the super(sexy) clone _Ack. No. You have to stop flirting with everyone!_ when Iris stepped into the room curiously, "Dick? What's wrong?" At the reassuring sound of Iris's loving voice, Dick instantly relaxed.

"Iris, what's it mean when someone doesn't like it when you flirt with other people?" Like Dick was going to keep this a secret, especially from Iris. Besides, if there was any chance he could turn Batboy into Batboyfriend, Dick was going to take that chance. _Well... it really depends on the odds... if they're_ good _odds then I'll take the chance, but otherwise I'll stick with being friends. I can live with being just friends – for now._.. Dick gave Supey a sidelong glance, _especially if Sexy over there continues to hang with me. NO! STOP! BAD KID FLASH! I need to swear off flirting for Robin's sake. That's it! I'm going on a flirting hiatus!_

"Well..." Iris tapped her finger to her chin ponderingly, a smile already gracing her kind face. "Doesn't that mean they like you?"

"Like? Or _like_?" Dick demanded eagerly, his blue eyes practically glowing.

"I would say _like_, if I had to guess, but it could depend. Who is it that wants your pick-up lines for themselves, my little flirt?" Iris beamed and leaned over to ruffle Dick's black hair until it looked even messier than before. Seriously, did that kid own a comb?

"Um... R-Robin." Dick's face heated up, even his ears blushing a scarlet to rival the Flash's suit.

"Oh!" Iris exclaimed, her grin increasing ten fold and her green eyes lighting up like the Fourth of July fireworks display three days ago.

"Iris something's wrong with Dick! He's all red-" Superboy began, his voice held just a sliver of panic, but his face remained stony. Giggling, Iris put a calming hand on Superboy's shoulder and shook her head gently.

"No, Dear, it's fine." She turned her face towards her adopted son, smiling knowingly, "Dick's just embarrassed."

Superboy furrowed his brow in confusion while Dick continued to sit, now fiddling with his baggy pajama pants. "Why?" Mini-Supes asked, deeply confused.

Iris stared a little wide-eyed for a second before recovering her composure and explaining, "Because Dick has a crush on Robin, and now, he knows Robin might have a crush on him back." Her gentle eyes gleamed with encouragement.

Again, Superboy furrowed his brow, "So both Dick and Robin more-than-like-but-not-quite-love each other?"

"Will you two stop talking about me like I'm not here." Dick exclaimed, more whiny than angry.

"I just wanted to figure it out..." Superboy grumbled as Iris's giggles heightened. "...wait... why is he mad that you 'flirted' with other people? Also, what's 'flirting'?"

_Oh, Supey... maybe my flirting hiatus can wait until tomorrow._

*meanwhile in Gotham *

Wally sat at the top of the stairs in Wayne Manor, his hands at his sides and his knees out in front of him, his gaze focused on the main door without really watching. Occasionally, his fingers twitched or his knee started bouncing. The ginger wasn't even looking at an electronic device; he simply sat there anxiously, wracking his brain over a certain situation.

The scene replayed over and over in Wally's mind.

{Flashbacks or dreams will, from now on, be in these {} things}

{ "You're the best, Lovebird." Dick smiled cheerily. _How dare he! How dare he stand there smiling like_ that _and expect me to just take his meaningless flirts when I know he's just going to hit on the next hot girl/guy to wander by!_

"Don't you start, _Kid_." Robin growled, "Don't you flirt with me like nothing happened, like everything's okay, like you didn't just hit on an evil clone."

"Supey's not evil..." _What? What's that look on Dick's face? And he's defending Supey? WHY! We almost got killed and Dick can't just focus on ME?_

"But he coulda been! It doesn't even matter, you flirt with everyone anyways, I mean seriously! What the hell?" _It'd be fine if you just flirted with me like you used to._

Then Robin heard Dick whisper, "You've never had a problem with it before." _Oh. Never had a problem? NEVER. HAD. A. PROBLEM? Is he really that_ blind_? What about the first time we met Aqualad? What about that time I introduced you to Barbara? Don't tell me you didn't notice the debacle that was our first meeting with Speedy._

"What are you talking about?" The look on Kid Flash's face showed he hadn't expected Robin to hear that little comment, but he didn't care. Give him a break, he almost died, he had a right to get his feelings off his chest, "I've always hated it when you flirt with other people!" _Stupid_ DICK _How could you not realize... of f*ck. I just admitted – no, no. He won't notice. He won't notice because he never notices and-_

"Yeah well! ... _Other_ people?" _Oh shit, oh shit. What did I do? I can't say it_ here. _I can't tell him like_ this.

"...This is not the time to be talking about this! Mush!"}

_Uuuurrnngh_ Wally groaned internally, his leg starting to bounce again. _How could I let myself slip like that? And now there's only one option... well one most preferable option that's still not particularly pleasant.._.

As Wally sat on the stairs in distress, Alfred observed the young ward's state. The old man nodded to himself, knowing full well it was time to bring out the big guns: hot chocolate and snickerdoodles.

Wally looked up as the trusty ol' Wayne butler climbed the steps, holding a platter of delicious cookies and hot chocolate made from imported chocolate. If it'd been any other occassion, Wally would've taken the moment to revel in just how fabulously rich his adoptive father was. But, now was not the time.

"Is something the matter, Master Wallace?" Alfred asked kindly, setting the plate of cookies beside the boy.

"N-no. I'm fine. Everything's fine." Wally shrugged, his eyes lingering to his feet. Despite countless attempts by Wally to deceive the butler, Alfred could always tell when Wally was lying – he had the odd habit of twitching just his pinky fingers when he lied.

Wally calmed his urge to shift against Alfred's intense stare. He looked up at the kind gentleman with a sheepish grin. Alfred sighed, "Well, if you are sure Master Wallace..." The wise butler headed back down the stairs with a dignified grace that could only come with old age, he turned back over his shoulder, white eyebrow arcing above his light eyes, and said, "I do believe Master Bruce will return home soon, Master Wallace." He turned back, at the bottom of the stairs he commented as an after though, "Do enjoy the hot chocolate."

Alfred had been right (big surprise) and Bruce returned to his mansion shortly after Wally downed his hot chocolate and guiltily finished off the cookies. _I'm gonna have to work that off... Eating too much is big fat no for Robin the Boy Wonder..._

The vast, Wayne mansion doors opened as Bruce, his hair slicked back and wearing one of his glorious designer suits, strode in. As he busied himself loosening his tie in the front entrance mirror he asked his ward, "Wally, what are you doing there?"

"...Waiting for you," was Wally's awkward, forced, but truthful reply.

Cocking and eyebrow and slinging his blazer over a coat rack, Bruce turned to his adoptive son, "How come?"

Hoping to lighten Bruce's mood (he knew how the bigshot billionaire hated those stuffy Wayne Ind. meetings) Wally made a big goofy smile and with a high-pitched voice responded jestingly, "I missed you Daddy."

Bruce gave Wally a half-hearted glare, unable to hide his slight smirk. He strode up the stairs, only pausing for a second beside Wally before heading towards his room to take off that damn itchy tie. Hopping up to follow, Wally said, "Bruce! Bruce wait, um... I did really have something to talk about..."

"What is it, Wally?" Bruce's voice wasn't stern, or rather, no more stern than usual, it was simply preoccupied as the man tried to undo whatever fancy knot Alfred had tied to get the long piece of clothe to stay around his neck.

"Um... well... it's um..." How could he say it? _How can I even begin to approach the subject of Dick... Bruce doesn't exactly like him. I guess I'll have to get him to say it first._ "Have you arranged something for Superboy yet?"

"No, I'm working on it, for now, Superboy is staying with the Flash and his family. Is that all?"

"Um... not exactly, so Bruce, when are we gonna"

"Going to" Bruce corrected offhandedly. Wally paused a moment before continuing *_Jeezus Bruce, you wouldn't think you were such a stickler for grammar just by looking at you_.

"Err right. When are we going to, we as in Superboy, Aqualad, Kid Flash, and I, meet up as a team?"

"Soon. When I get Superboy's living arrangements figured out." Bruce responded. He now entered his room, removing the tie forcefully and shoving it into a drawer. He turned his full attention to his adoptive son now. "Why." It was a question word not stated like a question.

But, Wally was used to it, "Um... just..." Wally could feel the blush in his cheeks, the sweat at the back of his neck, the quiver in his voice. He could barely look Bruce in the eye, "I was wondering if, since we'll be on a team, I could... I could tell Kid Flash..."

"No." Bruce's voice was definite, crushing. Suddenly, Wally's legs felt as though they'd turn to jelly under the weight of such immediate rejection.

"Y-you didn't even let me finish what I had to say!" Fortunately for Wally, his outburst seemed to give Bruce pause. Taking the silence as an opportunity, Wally continued his sentence with a little more confidence than before. (The confidence came solely from the adrenaline rush he felt just asking this of Bruce, and thinking about the outcome if the billionaire acceded), "I want to tell Kid Flash my identity."

"Wally, I told you-" Bruce began, but Wally shook his head fervently, the adrenaline still pumping. He could see it in his brain now – taking off his sunglasses or mask and seeing Dick through an unobstructed view for the first time. He wanted it so badly now, nothing could tear him away, not even Bruce. Through the rampant beating of his heart and his jelly limbs and quick breath, Wally realized this was the first time, save three days ago at the Hall of Justice, that he ever went against Bruce's (Batman's) direct orders.

"No Bruce, hear me out, please! Kid Flash can be reckless but he's just as dutiful as anyone else, he's just as loyal and compassionate and more honest than anyone I've ever met. I've known him for years now. I can understand not revealing my identity to him before, when we were both just sidekicks, but now we're going to be teammates. He should have earned the right to know by now, Bruce."

Fear struck through Wally's spine like lightning as Bruce remained silent for an exaggeratedly long time. Wally wasn't sure if the man was deeply considering what he'd said, or simply suppressing a rage.

Finally, the answer left Bruce's lips, "Fine."

"W-what?" Wally stood stalk still. For a moment he even thought his heart stopped from the shock.

"You can tell Kid Flash. But, just Kid Flash, and this does NOT give him permission to visit the manor. Understood?"

"YES SIR!" In his elation, Wally dared to hug Bruce before dashing towards his room excitedly, his daydreams immediately clouding his mind.

**[A/N: Finally another chapter. Thank you guys so much for reading.**

***I have a headcanon that part of why Robin does the whole fucking the English language is because it enrages Bruce. Alfred secretly thinks it's amusing though he'd never say that to Bruce's face.**

**I know Bruce is being a little neglecting towards Wally, he doesn't mean to be, it's just his first time being a Daddy and Wally's a handful in different ways than Dick.**

**Please review. I already wrote the next chapter so I'll upload it when I get three new reviews (cuz I'm a review whore)]**


	11. Identity

**[A/N: So this chapter's slashy, but I'm pretty sure anyone reading this is okay with that. Actually, you're probably all thinking FINALLY SOME ACTION because seriously it's Chapter 10 and all we've gotten so far is Dick needing to keep it in his pants and a bit of possessive!Wally. Also, be warned, this is over 3000 words – so pretty long. Enjoy!]**

Chapter 10: The Identity

{ _Wally stands facing Dick. They are in civvies but Wally still has sunglasses on – as always. They are face to face and Dick is smiling anxiously and Wally's fingers twitch as he reaches for his sunglasses._

_ He pulls them off smoothly, revealing popping green eyes, vibrant as emeralds. Dick is so shocked he doesn't even make a joke. Taking Dick's hand in his, Wally smiles and says, "Dick, my name is Wally Wayne, and I want you to know that because I love you."_

_ And, Dick smiles brightly and puts his hand on top of Wally's (which hold's Dick's other hand). They're standing a little closer now as Dick's smile brightens with his sapphire-like eyes. "I love you too, Lovebird." He says. His nicknames, his winks, his seductive smiles, and his flirtations are for Wally and Wally alone now._

_ Slowly, Dick's arms lift up and wrap themselves around Wally's neck. Eyes half-lidded, Wally puts his hands on Dick's hips, pulling them closer. Their noses touch and they breathe in each other's sent until Wally places a quick kiss on Dick's lips._

_ Dick's eyes glow fantastically with love as he pulls Wally back down, connecting their lips again. They move together: heads tilting to the side to avoid crushing their noses against each other, lips pressing firmly together, mouths open, tongues wiggling back and forth, chests pressing together._

_ Wally can feel Dick's hummingbird-wing heartbeat against his chest. The hand that traces down Wally's back sends tingles all the way to Wally's toes. Dick's irresistible form presses further against Wally and the Speedster boy leans in to whisper in a sultry voice,}_

BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP

Wally awoke with a start. His head shot up from his silk covered pillows quick as a rocket. Gasping for air, Wally whipped around struggling to shut his damn alarm off. He caught the time and yells frantically. He was going to be late. Why was he always late?

_Uuurgh, couldn't time have let me finish that dream..._ As Wally's thoughts trailed longingly back to his dream, he rolled with ninja-like flare out of bed. But, something was off. He looked down. _Aw man!_ He cursed as he realized he was going to be even later than he originally thought.

(Happy Harbor, Rhode Island: Mt. Justice)

Wally – in his Robin civvies and sunglasses, arrived at the cave with Batman via the zeta-tube teleporters. Wally'd hoped to talk to Kid Flash before they got their official meeting underway, but he found the mischievous speedster was too preoccupied causing havoc as he ran around the cave. Plus, Batman seemed to be watching Wally with the stern sort of glare that said very clearly, "Not now."

So Wally decided to wait until after the meeting. He waited (rather impatiently) for Batman and the other mentors to finish their lecture, "Batman needs a team who can work on the sly yaddiyadda blah blah blah Black Canary, Red Tornado. The five of you-"

_Wait. Five of us?_

"Wait, five of us?" Kid Flash voiced what Robin was thinking.

And, so the second and most significant set back to Robin's plan walked in: a green cutie-pie by the name of M'gann M'orrz (Or Miss Martian). Robin could see the physical toll it took on Kid Flash to not flirt. _Is he not flirting because of what I said at Cadmus?_

"Nice to meet you." Kid Flash greeted shaking the girl's hand, and for a moment, Wally thought the boy wasn't going flirt until he held on longer than necessary and whispered, "and might I say you look out of this world." Wally felt a little bit of his heart and sanity crack at the comment. Perhaps it'd been too visible on his face because Kid Flash's eyes flashed towards the Boy Wonder, and he immediately let go of the Martian's hand. As if trying to cover up embarrassment, Dick turned towards Superboy, who lingered away from the crowd around the Martian, "Hey! Superboy, come over here and meet Miss M."

The rest of the day was spent getting to know Miss Martian and watching TV on the gigantonormous television in the living room. Mostly, what the team learned about the redheaded, green girl was that she really loved classic old TV shows from just when color was becoming big.

"Oooh, look there's a 'Hello Megan' marathon!" M'gann cheered happily as Aqualad instructed her on the use of the universal control (that, no M'gann, did not control the universe.)

Robin groaned internally. Really, all he wanted to do was talk with Dick. He had no interest sitting with the (admittedly pretty) Martian as she watched some dumb TV show with the most annoying as hell catchphrase to ever grace this planet.

"Hahaha. 'Hello Megan!' I love that catch phrase!" M'gann exclaimed excitedly. _Oh God, kill me now._ Wally thought, _why couldn't we watch the Flaming C or something? At least that's not going to make my ears bleed_... _I mean this chick's hot, but... lol that Hello Megan girl is so stupid. Hey, Dick's laughing too - I love that creepy little laugh of his._

The hours passed by, and Dick made polite conversation with Miss M and Aqualad. Occasionally, even Superboy would join in, but Wally remained, for the most part, silent. He ate what was offered to him, he gave dry, sarcastic comments, and overall acted pretty moody. He knew it, and whenever he caught himself starting to be especially rude he stopped himself, hoping keeping his mouth shut would at least stop him from saying something nasty. Unfortunately, the silence seemed to only aggravate the situation.

Eventually, the mentors came to pick up their protégés and leave. Naturally, Superboy and M'gann stayed since Mt. Justice was their home now. Wally was tempted to text Batman telling him to delay Barry, but it was too late. The Scarlet Speedster arrived within seconds to pick up his adoptive son, and so Dick left, crushing the Boy Wonder's hopes to talk to him.

"Nice to meet you Miss M. See ya Aqualad, and Supey if you ever need to stay the night, you're welcome with us." The yellow Speedster waved a cheery goodbye. Deep inside, Wally was exuberant that Superboy now had a place to live that wasn't with Dick. Kid Flash brushed his hand against Wally's shoulder as he flashed (pun intended) by, "Bye-bye Birdie." His creepy laugh echoed in the Cave long after he'd zoomed away. Soon after, Aqualad excused himself – heading back to Shyeris. Finally, Batman arrived to take Wally back to Gotham.

"See you, Robin! It was nice to meet you!" M'gann waved cheerily, though Wally could see the insecurity in her brown eyes. The Boy Wonder did his best to force a smile – he knew it wasn't M'gann's fault things didn't go according to plan – and waved goodbye,

"Bye M'gann, it was great to meet you. And, uh... good to see you again Supey." Robin followed Batman through the Zeta Tubes and back to Wayne Manor with crushing defeat and awkwardness weighing in his heart.

"Hey, Batman, you think we could Zeta to Central real quick before heading back to Gotham?" But, Batman didn't even hesitate in his answer.

"No" Bruce stated, not bothering to turn around and look at Wally as the computer teleported them to the coordinates pressed in just moments ago.

(later that night in the Batcave)

Bruce prepped his costume as he prepared to go out for patrol, "You want to come, Wally?" The ginger was shocked – nay amazed! Batman actually asked a question? More than that, Batman asked what _he_ _wanted_? He hadn't done something like that in... months? over half a year? Wally couldn't even remember... he was pretty sure Bruce hadn't even _asked_ what Wally wanted for his birthday so this was certainly a rare occasion.

"N-no, Bruce. I'm good. I'll just hang out here and do homework..." Wally swung his foot back and forth, scuffing the floor of the cave with his heel. Deep inside him, though, he could feel something other than so not whelming disappointment churning. _Leave already, Bruce! Just go!_ He kept thinking over and over, attempting to will the Caped Crusader out of the cave.

Batman pulled down his cowl so his face became that of Bruce Wayne's, "Wally, I know you're disappointed you didn't get to tell him today, but you don't need to rush it." The protector of Gotham ruffled Wally's red hair almost kindly, "If you really love him, you can wait. Just stay home; play some basketball."

With that, Bruce spun on his heel and hopped into the Batmobile. Before he could turn the ignition, Wally recovered from his shock enough to gasp, "Y-you knew!"

"Of course I knew, Wally, you're my son." Bruce pulled the pointy-eared cowl over his eyes with a chuckle. Batman continued, "Plus, I'm Batman." Emphasizing the finality of the statement, the Batmobile roared to life and ripped out of the cave at a near speedster speed.

As Wally was left alone in the cave, he crossed his arms over his chest and muttered, "Goddamn Batman!"

He stood there for a few moments, as his muttering voice echoed off the impressively clean cave walls – damn, whatever Alfred was getting paid was not enough.

Wally sighed, his heart sinking deeper than before now that he stood alone. Nonetheless, whatever it was that churned within him now rebelled against the repressive loneliness. He let his ginger bangs fall into his eyes and the uncomfortable feeling tinged with regret twist his stomach. _I wanted to tell Dick_ _today_... _I don't want to wait. No I_ can't _wait. I've waited for two years now._

That previous something bubbled over into Wally's thoughts. He hadn't experienced this sort of feeling since running away from his biological parents all those years ago. He wanted to break some rules. He wanted to tear down the boundaries around him and do what he wanted to do. And, what he wanted to do was go see Dick.

With that thought hanging over his mind like a carrot on a stick, Wally pulled on a green hoodie over his red and black shirt and looped his utility belt around his waist. He hopped onto his R-Cycle and roared away. He took the back route to the nearest zeta tube accessible to bikes.

After zooming through Gotham, carefully avoiding Batsy's usual routes, he Zeta'd to Central City – it was just past dusk there - _Stupid time zones..._ Wally muttered in his brain as he raced through the streets. He loved the speed of his bike, but it palled in comparison to Kid Flash. Getting pulled along by Kid Flash, while on some level humiliating (though this lessened since Dick was more humiliated) was also thrilling.

Aside from the thrill, a sense of horror struck Wally. _I'm disobeying Batman. Worse, I'm disobeying Bruce. I lied and I snuck out, and I didn't even tell Alfred. Oh my SUPERMAN. I didn't tell Alfred. _He continued through the dim Kansas streets, his worrying gradually subsiding as he thought, _No, I have to do this - not just have to - I_ want _to! I can't wait around any longer!_

Just as Wally turned a corner through a residential area, trying for the life of him to remember where Dick lived, he saw a familiar blur of yellow streak through the distance. A gasp escaped Wally's lips before he could help himself. Ignoring all traffic rules (which he was already violating) Wally revved the R-Cycle's engine and accelerated to chase after the direction of the blur.

Not a moment later, wind blew harshly against Wally's side and a familiar voice called over the sound of wind and engine, "Hey, I don't know if you know this but you're about 80 miles over the speed- ROBIN?"

Surprised as he was, Wally was not stupid enough to stop abruptly and send himself hurtling over his handlebars. He decelerated gradually. Turning into an abandoned parking lot. He parked his motorbike and turned to face the mustard-colored Speedster who'd easily kept pace beside him the entire time.

There was a stunned smile on Dick's face as he gazed at Wally (not Wally yet, Robin) with his big blue eyes. "Dude, I knew you were a night-owl but come on! Also, you're lucky I don't have the authority to give out tickets because boy should you be getting one. So Nightingale, I- wait, why are you here?"

The impatience rising in Robin almost hurt, it was so intense. He hopped off his bike to stand face to face with Kid Flash. "I needed to talk to you." His voice was breathless as he reached for Kid Flash's hand. Even when fighting the Joker he'd never felt this much (this type) of a rush. His body felt feather-light (bird pun not intended) as Kid Flash didn't pull away when he clasped their hands together. Rather, the Speedster stared up at the older sidekick in confusion.

"Lov-Rockin' Robin what're... ahaha... um... I didn't think birds migrated south until the fall..." _What was that?_ Wally wondered as his heart pumped his body full of a golden feeling of elation, _Is he embarrassed? Nervous?_ Wally shook the thought from his brain. Time to focus.

"I have some important to tell you. Batman finally said I could," Robin's smile grew enormous as he reached up for his glasses, much to the raven-haired Speedster's surprise. Though Robin could see the gears turning and the dots connecting in those honest, electric-blue eyes, there still remained an unprecedented amount of shock. It only made Robin smile more.

He removed his glasses, albeit with less grace than he had intended, but the widened eyes on his pretty Speedster's face matched fairly close to his day dreams. He paused for a moment, savoring the look of his boy without the impediment of a lens. "Dick, my real name is Wally Wayne." He confessed, pulling Dick's hand so the Speedster was forced a little closer, "And I'm telling you this because I love you." For a moment, Wally thought his heart was going to explode with delight just from saying those words, but as they escaped his lips, he could feel an ominous fear rising in his belly.

Dick stood aghast in the middle of the dim streetlamp-lit parking lot for a drawn out moment. His mouth sat slightly ajar up his face and his eyes almost popped out of his skull.

"Dick, um, please say something?"

"You're Wallace Wayne."

"Y-yeah..."

More silence ensued and Wally's hands began twitching so fast he thought he was going to start vibrating like how Kid Flash sometimes did when he was really nervous.

"D-Dick, please say something, please..." Dick only looked at the ground awkwardly, shrugging his shoulder and clearly struggling to find the words to communicate what he was thinking, "I-I didn't come here to get rejected! I finally got the courage to go against Batman and to stand up to him, so I could tell you who I am. Don't tell me after two years of incessant flirting that you don't feel the same way. Don't tell me I was just your little Toy Wonder!"

"You weren't! You're not!" Dick's frustrated voice burst from his petite body so forcefully Wally clamped his mouth shut. Now, it was Dick's turn to rant, "You can't do this to me. You don't even get it! Do you know how big a bombshell you just dropped over my head? You're Wallace fricken Wayne! I-I don't even know who half of you is!"

"You know me! I'm the same person-"

"No, you're not! I'm a hero too, I know just as well as you that the two _can't_ visibly intertwine. They _can't_ be allowed to be the same or we risk our and our loved ones' safety! And now you're telling me this coveted information why? Because you felt like it!"

"Didn't you listen to me? It's because I-I love you." Wally was crestfallen. What? Did Dick not believe him or-

"No! Well yes, I listened! And I believe y-" Dick was trying to calm his breath now. He breathed in deeply, desperately: nervously. He tried to give a sheepish smile once he'd calmed down, "you love me... but you didn't ride your R-Cycle all the way from Gotham to a little city in Kansas in the middle of the night to tell me your name because you love me. You were just... just impatient..."

Wally was visibly shaking now. He didn't know what to say because Dick had hit the nail on the head with that observation. "S-so? What's wrong with being impatient? Y-you're impatient all the time: reckless even..."

To make sure Wally'd finished, Dick paused before speaking again, attempting with all his Speedster might to speak evenly, "I just really, really like you," he admitted, then continued his explanation, "but I don't want you to like me on a whim. I want to be absolutely, one hundred percent sure this is real."

Utterly heart-broken and shell-shocked, Wally stared into Dick's eyes. _Dick thinks this isn't real? I-I've felt like this for so long though... I was just tired of waiting. Sure, I guess it wasn't all that smart to sneak out to Central in the middle of the night, but still..._

Silence passed between the two boys. The air felt palpably awkward; perhaps the Kansas in July warmth brought it out even more. At the same time though, the warm breeze, the stars above their heads, looking into each other's eyes for the first time: it was like a dream. A tranquility settled over them that neither wanted to break until Wally finally decided to say one last thing.

"I didn't drive here, I just Zeta beamed my bike..."

That got Dick to burst out laughing. "Pffft, Of course you did ahahaha!" He gripped his sides, as he gasped for air.

"...So... you really, really like me?" Wally asked hopefully, needing the confirmation, and taking the blue-eye'd boy's laughing as an opportunity to talk about what he wanted.

Meanwhile, Dick noticed the Boy Wonder was still holding his hand. He swallowed nervously. Sure he'd flirted before, but saying the actual words: the epitome of words denoting affection? He'd never said it before. It'd never been real like this before.

"I- I lo- yeah I really, really, _really_ like you, Lovedove." Dick smiled. The streetlight's dim glow covered him in diaphanous light. "I'm just always racing so far ahead of myself... I want to go slow for once."

Wally nodded softly, reveling in the new nickname (no, now its a petname, the kind couples have). Wait... were they a couple or did Dick just gently let him down? "So are we...?"

"We are." Dick nodded, squeezing Wally's hand before finally letting go, "And we are also out past our curfews. So, goodnight Lovedove."

"Good night, Dick." Wally considered suppressing his desire to lean in for a kiss, but decided _What the hell_ and pressed his lips excitedly against Dick's cheek. "Souvenir!" He exclaimed with a proud smile at Dick's shocked face. _Not everyday I can get Dick to make that sort of expression._ Getting on his R-Cycle, he waved goodbye and rode away, leaving Dick clutching his cheek.

**[A/N: For those of you who are thinking, "boo they should've kissed on the lips or Richard what are you doing boy?" or thinking I'm contradicting the characters, _all of Richard's side will be explained the next chapter (through talking to Iris, not a rewrite of this chapter, lucky for you guys)_**

**Also, please remember Dick is still 13. He might be kinda horny, but that doesn't mean when he gets a boyfriend/girlfriend he _just_ wants physical affection. He definitely treasures the emotional side too.**

**Now for a little Wally character analysis. Impatience and racing ahead is part of who Wally is; it's just exacerbated by his hyper-accelerated everything. Wally also can be self-involved (as shown beautifully through 'Coldhearted') which combines with impatience, leading to things like breaking rules, talking out of turn, talking a lot, moodiness when he doesn't get his way, etc. **

**So various, out of order, things about Wally from this chapter: 1. I'm showing a lot more of his impatience and inability to keep still: mentally, physically, and emotionally. 2. I'm beginning to show the repercussions of him being under Batman's watchful eye 24/7 3. Traces of possessive!Wally can still be found. 4. Souvenir! 5. Trying to make a joke to get around awkwardness. 6. Moodiness 7. Getting around Wally's feelings for M'gann. **

**Dick, Iris, Superboy, and Wally will definitely be in the next chapter. Possibly Bruce too.]**


End file.
